


Airplane Trash

by Foxtrot909



Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Mostly it's gonna be smut, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-23
Updated: 2020-07-28
Packaged: 2020-12-31 19:43:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 23,698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21151169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Foxtrot909/pseuds/Foxtrot909
Summary: Gendry is heading to Winterfell for Jon's wedding and he runs into Arya, who he hasn't seen in years, and they... reconnect.IDK I wrote this a few months ago and thought about adding to it but decided it would just make a great, trashy, smutty one shot. That's literally all it is, please don't read if you're not interested in that.Edit: good feedback made my brain flesh out the rest of the story and now I have to write it. I may as well share it with you filthy animals.





	1. Chapter 1

Gendry Waters settled himself into the comfortable aisle seat in the first class cabin, accepting the glass of champagne that the attendant handed him before the business and coach passengers began to file past. He switched his phone to airplane mode and pulled out his camera, flipping through the pictures he had taken in the airport. Photography paid his bills, but it wasn’t his favorite medium. Every once in a while though, he finds himself snapping pictures of inane every day moments, like the child that was crying next to her mother, who was gesturing furiously at an employee behind the ticketing counter two airlines over from Gendry. He couldn’t resist capturing the moment as he walked past after he checked in. There was also a sweet moment where a young man with more tattoos and facial piercings than was probably wise helping an elderly man retie his shoes once they were past security. Gendry took the picture before he walked past and heard the boy call the old man “granddad.” There were a couple other pictures that he deleted, having not taken the time to focus the camera properly, they weren’t worth keeping.

He looked up as the flight attendant refilled his empty glass, muttering an awkward “thank you,” before turning his camera off and putting it away. He fastened his seatbelt and took a large gulp of the second glass of champagne, looking out the window at the setting sun. He had never travelled first class before. Normally if he flew, it was the cheapest seat on the redeye, but his oldest friend in the world, Jon Stark, was getting married and Jon’s family had more money than the gods as far as Gendry was concerned. Jon had insisted on paying for everything to get Gendry to Winterfell for the wedding. He hadn’t even realized Jon had booked him first class until he had reached the check-in counter and the woman had told him he could have used the first class line.

The steady stream of people boarding the plane started to thin, and Gendry looked at the empty seat next to him, wondering if he was going to get lucky enough to have his choice of window or aisle seats. He smiled at the thought as he finished the glass of champagne. The attendant showed up again with the bottle, but Gendry waved it away, and the attendant took the empty glass instead.

_This is what being rich is like_ he thought to himself with a touch of bitterness. Gendry had grown up dirt poor in foster homes all over Westeros, with as much as he could carry and nothing else. He was better now, he lived comfortably in his one bedroom flat in King’s Landing, and his bills always got paid on time, but luxury was a faraway dream. People pouring you champagne without being asked was definitely a luxury. The flight attendants started walking up and down the aisles, closing the overhead bins and checking that the passengers had their seats up and their belts on. Gendry smiled to himself, glancing again at the empty seat next to him.

“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much for flying with United Westeros. This is your captain, Davos, speaking. This is flight 235 to Winterfell, flight time two hours and twenty-seven minutes. We are set for an on time departure, but have just received a notification from customs that a passenger trying to make a connection landed on a delayed flight from Braavos about twenty minutes ago. She is already back through the customs security check, so we are going to wait five minutes and see if she can make it. We apologize for the inconvenience and I ask that you empathize with the woman trying not to miss her flight.”

Gendry smiled. He had never gotten a particularly warm feeling from the thought of airline pilots, they seemed like assholes most of the time, but he enjoyed this one. He was, at the very least, not an asshole. Gendry looked again at the empty seat to his right, letting out a quiet sigh.

_Oh well._

He unravelled a set of headphones and picked out a playlist on his phone, closing his eyes as people continued to chat and rustle around their belongings. After one song, Gendry’s knee was jostled slightly. He opened his eyes to find a very small woman had slipped in front of his legs and was settling herself in the window seat, looking up into the aisle and saying something to the flight attendant. Gendry took about one second to let his eyes take in her athletic form, her perky tits, her grey eyes, and her heart shaped face before he pulled the headphones out.

“Of course miss, it really has only been a couple minutes. Can I get you anything before we take off?” The flight attendant was saying.

“No, just thank the captain for me please.”

“Of course,” the man nodded, turning to the front of the plane.

Gendry turned his eyes back to the woman, who was fastening her seatbelt.

“Glad you made it,” he said, putting on his most charming smile. Gendry wasn’t necessarily a player, but he did just fine with women. Confidence was never an issue.

“Gods, me too, you don’t even know,” she said with a huff, sitting back against her seat and looking at him for the first time. “Gendry?” She said with a tone of total surprise.

Gendry felt his stomach drop, his smile faltering a bit. _Shit._ He really didn’t sleep around much, so she wasn’t a one night stand. _Uni? _No, she was definitely younger than him, and he and Jon mostly hung around with older people at that time.

“So you’re still stupid,” she said with a wolfish grin, and it clicked into place.

“Arya,” he said, his smile morphing into one of genuine joy. Jon’s youngest sister, she had always been a favorite of Jon’s, and subsequently, Gendry’s. The four years he had spent in Winterfell while he was in secondary school were the happiest of his terrible youth. His home had been alright, and the Starks had taken him in as one of their own. Arya was six years younger than Jon and him, but she was always around, kicking a football with them or picking fights with people much bigger than she was. She was a bit of a tomboy, and she kept her hair short then. Her knees were usually scraped up and there was almost always mud somewhere on her. “I think this is the cleanest I’ve ever seen you,” he said, pretending to look closely for mud but really admiring how her hair framed her face now that it was a little longer, brushing her shoulders.

She had been twelve the last time he had seen her, and she was crying as he and Jon loaded Jon’s car to head to university together. His heart clenched at the memory of her running away when Jon had tried to hug her. Jon chased after her but Gendry had waited by the car. The few times he had been back to visit with Jon since then, Arya was never around. She was usually camping with a friend for the weekend or something similar, and then she was in Braavos. 

She scoffed and looked out the window, and Gendry couldn’t help but admire the flush spreading over her chest. She was certainly not the little girl he knew anymore.

“Thank you so much for your patience ladies and gentlemen, we are pushing back from the gate and will be on our way momentarily. Please pay close attention to the safety demonstration,” the captain’s voice echoed over the speakers again as the plane began to move. Gendry pretended to watch their flight attendant do the same demonstration he had seen at least a dozen times, but he couldn’t stop glancing at Arya out of the corner of his eye. She was still looking out the window, but she didn’t look annoyed anymore. When the flight attendants went to the front of the plane and fastened into their own seats, Gendry put his headphones back in but didn’t start the music. The whole ascent into the air, he stared straight ahead, a silent war raging inside his head.

_She’s Jon’s sister._

_But she’s Arya._

_She’s way too young for you._

_She’s an adult!_

_Still too young for you._

_I mean, she’s gotta be almost 23._

_Jon._

_He’s going to kill me._

_She’s probably not even interested in you._

_I could change her mind. I’m a great guy!_

_Jon._

_Fuck._

Once they reached cruising altitude, the flight attendant came back out, this time with a cart loaded with not only champagne, but also wine, beer, sodas, juices, tiny liquor bottles, and snacks of all kinds. He pulled his headphones out, looking around wearily for a menu that might have a price list.

Arya leaned over him, saying, “Can I get a lager? Just whatever you have?”

The man opened a can and handed it to her, turning back to look at Gendry. She wasn’t digging for her wallet, so he hoped for the best and said, “Same.”

He sipped the beer, looking at Arya again. “So how’s Braavos?”

Her brow furrowed and she looked at him before bringing the can to her lips and slamming back the whole beer. She set the can down and started talking, “Braavos is… I graduated two months ago, and I needed to get out of there. I spent most of this week sending boxes back to Winterfell and selling my furniture. Excuse me, could I get another one please?” She said to the flight attendant as he was pulling the cart back to the front. He smiled fondly at her, passing her another beer. Gendry wondered if she had that effect on most people. The guy couldn’t seem to help liking her. Gendry could relate.

“Yikes. Bad breakup?” He said, trying to pretend he wasn’t fishing for information about her love life.

“Something like that,” she said, taking a sip of her beer and looking out the window for a second. “I mean I was always planning on coming back this summer. I’m not running away, this was always the plan. But it couldn’t have come at a better time, if that makes sense?”

Gendry nodded, but he had one eyebrow raised. “Well, that’s vague. Come on Arry, I haven’t seen you in a decade, I’m gonna need a few more details.” He couldn’t help but notice her smile at his use of her childhood nickname.

She looked at him closely, seeming to decide what to tell him. “I was in a sort of relationship. It was like a polyamorous situation. This couple. We were all together, sometimes all three of us, sometimes just two at a time. It’s weird, and a little culty, and very hard to explain but it worked for a while. But when I decided to come home after I graduated, things got weird. She got really possessive and didn’t want me to leave, he was backing her up. She totally lost it last weekend, pulled out a knife and was trying to stab me.” Arya took a long pull from her beer, shaking her head at no one in particular.

Gendry sat there with his mouth hanging slightly ajar for a moment while he processed little Arya Stark being part of a poly relationship. His cock twitched as he tried not to think of how adventurous she would be in bed. “That is definitely not what I was expecting but I’m glad you got out of that situation,” he finally said, setting down his beer and anxiously wiping his palms on his jeans.

“Me too. So what have you been up to? You were in King’s Landing last I heard?” She said, clearly wanting to change the subject.

“Uh, yeah still there. I sell sculptures from time to time but mostly photography pays my bills.”

“You’re still welding then? That was always so cool, you should show me some of your work!” she said, her eyes lighting up with excitement.

“Yeah, welding is a part of it. I incorporate a lot of different materials into my work, but metal is always the main structure at the very least,” Gendry said, pulling out his phone and pulling up a picture of the piece he was working on at the moment. It was a stag, made of long bits of rusted iron as the legs and body, but there was red fabric woven throughout the ribcage.

“Are the antlers made of glass?” Arya said, leaning over the armrest to get a closer look.

“Yep. I learned glass blowing in uni. It’s one of my favorite materials when I’m trying to make something delicate.”

“That’s awesome," she said, looking up to meet his eyes.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we are going to turn off the overhead lights for the remainder of the flight,” a flight attendant’s voice rang out over the intercom. “The lights lining the aisle will stay on and of course you have your individual lamps. Do not hesitate to press the call button if you need any assistance.”

As soon as the announcement finished, the lights in the cabin flickered off, leaving only the soft glow of lights from the floor lining the aisle.

“So what did you study in school?” Gendry asked in a lower voice after a few minutes of silence, using the opportunity to lean closer to Arya, bracing his forearms on the wide armrest that separated them.

“International studies with a minor in economics. I think I’ll probably go to law school eventually but I definitely want to take a break from school for a couple years.”

“Wow!” Gendry said, a little surprised. “What do you think you want to do until then?”

“I’m not sure,” Arya said, looking away from him, her face thoughtful. “I kinda thought when I get through this wedding, I’ll just start applying for anything that sounds interesting.”

Gendry smiled, feeling charmed by how carefree she was. It was a luxury he had never been able to afford. He had to continue working as a mechanic for almost three years after he finished university before he was able to make a name for himself around King’s Landing as an event photographer, and that was still just a job to pay the bills. But Arya was young and smart and had all the time in the world to figure her life out, especially knowing how excited her mom was to have her back home after being in Braavos for the last four years. “I’m sure you’ll find something great,” he said, leaning back.

They didn’t say anything for another twenty minutes, Arya flushing slightly every time she would get caught trying to steal a glance at Gendry as he would just laugh quietly. Finally he leaned back onto the armrest with both arms. “You know I’m a little surprised you didn’t end up studying engineering.”

“Oh? Why is that?” She said, her face genuinely curious.

“Well, whenever Jon and I would mess about in the garage, you were always around trying to build something. I remember little ten year old Arya playing keep away with my torch for an hour one Saturday afternoon when I was first learning to weld.”

“I mean building stuff was an excuse, you know? I never really cared what I was making.”

“You just liked the fire? The loud noises? The destruction?”

Arya snorted into her beer, shaking her head and looking to the window. “Something like that.”

“There you go again with the vague answers,” Gendry said, his face still smiling, but his tone was probing.

“I had a crush on you, okay? I was just looking for a reason to hang around, you stupid idiot,” Arya said, flushing but holding eye contact.

Gendry couldn’t stop himself from glancing down at her lips as she said that. “Really?” He whispered, his eyes finding hers again, his left hand moving off the armrest and towards her leg, where he gently stroked the soft skin on the inside of her thigh.

Arya swallowed, nodding her head a bit as she leaned forward. Gendry threw caution to the wind as he met her in the middle, pressing his lips to hers. He had to suppress a moan when he felt her tongue slip into his mouth, his fingers moving a little further up, under the hem of her shorts before he grasped her leg. She squirmed a little under his touch, her mouth hot against his. He released his grip, moving his fingers only another inch or two until they felt the damp cotton over her core, tearing a quiet moan from her lips. They both stilled, Gendry pulling his lips away from hers and looking around the first class cabin. The couple across the aisle were both asleep, and the man visible in the row in front of and across from them had his headphones on as he watched a movie on his laptop.

When Gendry’s eyes returned to Arya, his hand still shoved up the leg of her shorts, her eyes were dark and her mouth was set in a firm line. She leaned forward, but turned her head to the side, whispering in his ear, “Bathroom. I’ll be right behind you,” before she turned and began digging through her backpack for something.

Gendry unbuckled his seatbelt, standing into the aisle on shaky legs, looking around to make sure no one was watching. Somewhere in the back of his mind, there was a voice asking him what the fuck he was doing. It was an easy voice to ignore as he let himself past a curtain and then into the small bathroom. He noticed water on the counter and grabbed a paper towel, wiping it up and stuffing it in the trash can right as the door slid open about halfway. Arya slipped in and shut the door quickly, sliding the lock into place. When she turned to look at him, she had her bottom lip pulled between her teeth, chewing it nervously, and Gendry was overcome with the urge to chew on it as well. He surged forward, crushing his lips to hers as her hands flew around his neck. He twisted them so that he could lift her up onto the counter, pressing his straining cock against her as he bit down on her lower lip, tearing another quiet moan from her.

Gendry was palming roughly at her over her shirt, pulling the shirt and bra down before latching his lips around a pink nipple. She was rutting against him as she reached down and unbuttoned her shorts, pushing him away so she could lift her hips and push them off along with her underwear. Gendry looked down, his free hand following his eyes as he dragged a finger up the slit of pink he could see peaking out from between the dark curls of hair, trying not to groan as he realized how wet she was for him. He spread her moisture around before roughly pushing two fingers inside of her, anxious for the moment when it would be his cock.

“Gendry,” she said, bringing his attention back up to her face. She grabbed the waistband of his pants and began unfastening them before reaching inside his boxers and grasping his painfully hard erection. His hips bucked forward into her hands as he began slowly fucking her with his fingers, but she released him. “We don’t have time for foreplay,” she said, holding a condom up in front of his face. He wasn’t sure where she got it but he was very grateful as he pulled his fingers out of her and released her bra, ripping open the package and rolling it on quickly before grasping himself and lining up with her entrance.

“Ready?” He asked, his voice low and rough to his own ears. She nodded frantically and it was all he needed before he buried himself inside her, drawing a gasp from her lips. He let out a long quiet moan at how hot and tight she was around him, staying still as he felt her relax around his rather impressive length. He smiled at a passing thought that her ex clearly wasn’t as large as him.

After a short moment, he felt her relax and roll her hips as the plane shook slightly with some turbulence. She pulled his face to hers, muttering, “Will you please fuck me already?” Before pressing her lips to his in a sloppy kiss.

“As m’lady commands,” he said with a chuckle around her tongue before he pulled out a bit and slammed back in, setting a grueling pace that had Arya moving her hips to meet his and moaning his name quietly against his lips in a matter of minutes. “Gods you feel so fucking good, Arya,” he panted as he felt her walls begin to flutter around him, dropping a hand from her hip down to her clit where he rubbed his thumb over her in frantic circles as the plane gave another shake.

“Gendry—“ she panted against his chest as her head fell forward to rest on his shoulder.

“I know,” he growled, before biting down on the delicate skin of her neck to muffle his groans as he sped his thrusts up as much as he could. He felt her walls clamp down around him, his hips slamming into hers jerkily as he emptied himself inside the condom as she was panting against his shoulder, mewling quietly, her nails digging into his ass.

When his hips finally stilled, neither of them moved for a moment, catching their breath. Arya eventually lifted her head, looking up at his face, her eyes careful. Gendry kept his face as soft as he could, a small smile pulling at the corner of his mouth before he leaned forward to press a chaste kiss to her lips. “Hey,” he said quietly, resting his forehead against hers.

She chuckled lightly, before pushing him away until he slipped out of her and far enough that she could slide off the sink, but she stepped up close to him as her feet hit the ground. “Hey.”

“That was… unexpected,” Gendry said, wrapping a hand around her neck and leaning in for another kiss, but she held him back with a hand to his chest.

“Later. We need to get back to our seats,” she said.

He nodded, removing the condom and stuffing it into the trash. Arya picked her shorts up off the ground and was trying to get them on in the limited space they had.

“You go, I’ll be out in a minute,” Arya said, pushing Gendry on the shoulder as he buttoned and zipped his pants.

He walked back to his seat in a daze, only vaguely noticing that no one seemed to be aware of what had just happened in the bathroom. He sat down and looked straight ahead, trying desperately not to think of how deep of shit he was in. The voice that had been so easy to ignore while he was walking to the bathroom was now screaming.

_Jon is going to kill you. You are dead. What the fuck is wrong with you?_

The panic must have been pretty evident on his face as Arya slipped back into her seat a minute after him, because she leaned close and whispered, “Are you okay?”

“Yup. Just thinking about Ghost’s teeth is all.”

Arya laughed, not at all quiet, though not embarrassingly loud. It was a pleasant laugh and Gendry felt a little less terrible for a moment knowing he had caused her to make such a sound. “What Jon doesn’t know won’t hurt him. Or you, for that matter,” Arya said eventually, her eyes full of mirth.

“What if he catches us?” Gendry said playfully, leaning over the armrest again.

“Oh, you think that’s gonna happen again? That’s very presumptuous of you.”

“Well, you said later when I tried to kiss you after, so…”

Arya’s face froze as she tried to think of a response to that, but Gendry was pleased when she smiled again, looking down at his lips as she said, “You’ve got me there,” as she leaned forward and pressed her lips against his again. Unlike their heated kisses from before, this was soft and sweet.

They kissed for only a moment before the overhead lights turned on and the voice of the captain echoed through the cabin, waking the sleeping couple across the aisle. “Ladies and gentlemen, we are beginning our final descent into Winterfell, please fasten your seatbelts and return you seats and tray tables to their fully upright positions. The flight attendants will be coming through for their final check momentarily.”

Gendry pulled away from Arya reluctantly, sitting back but still smiling at the beautiful woman in the seat next to him. He pondered for a moment how she had been back in his life for all of two hours and had already torn through like a hurricane, turning everything upside down.

The first class attendant came through with a trash bag, collecting garbage from other passengers. When he looked at Arya and Gendry, he raised his eyebrows but said nothing as he moved on, slipping past the thin curtain behind them. Gendry turned to Arya with a questioning look on his face. When his eyes met hers, she let out a loud snort before lifting a hand and combing her fingers through his hair.

“I made quite a mess out of you,” she said quietly.

“It was worth it,” he whispered, staying still as she fixed his hair.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A late night visit and an early morning with the Starks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I know I said this would be a one shot, but it got a great response and the vague idea I had shrugged off as unnecessary formed itself into a fully fledged outline in my head and ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ The first half is mostly smut again, because I am what I am, but the second half is going to start getting into a little plot.

A couple hours later, after Gendry had taken a quick shower to rinse the plane (and sex) off and brushed his teeth, he settled into the large and extremely soft bed in the guest room of the Stark family house (mansion), before turning off the light and unlocking his phone. He allowed himself to flick through pictures from Arya’s Instagram page for a few minutes, admiring the adventuresome life she had already led. She had been to far more places than he had. He finally scrolled back to the top of her page and pressed the follow button before exiting out of the app and locking the phone again. He set it on the bedside table and rolled onto his side, looking out the window at the dark grounds outside.

He was just starting to drift off when he heard the door let out a very small creak. He was still for a moment, before he felt the bed behind him dip down. He rolled onto his back and saw Arya’s face illuminated in the soft glow coming from the window, her body kneeling next to him on the bed.

“Hey,” he said, placing a hand on her knee, rubbing his thumb in soothing circles. He was a little caught off guard when she didn’t say anything, but instead leaned forward and pressed her lips to his.

Her kisses were hungry and messy. She plunged her tongue into his mouth and her teeth clashed against him in her haste. She quickly climbed over his lap, grinding down on his rapidly hardening cock as she panted into his mouth.

“Hey, hey, hey, slow down,” he said against her lips, bringing both hands up to cup her face and try to slow her frantic movements. “There’s a slightly lower chance of us getting caught here,” he said, a laugh in his voice.

Arya, however, did not laugh. She pushed her face back towards his, taking his lower lip between her teeth and biting down hard. He gasped in pain, pulling his face back as much as the pillows would allow. “Do you want me to leave?” She panted into his mouth.

Gendry was quiet for a moment, stroking his thumbs across her cheekbones. “No,” he finally said, leaning in for another kiss. He was slow, gently sucking her tongue, but she quickly resumed her attack on him, pulling the blankets out from between them as her tongue wrestled for dominance, settling back on his lap. His hands dropped from her face to her thighs, letting her take the lead. He pushing his hands up slowly as she ground down against him, allowing her to control the pace of their kisses.

He groaned quietly as he pushed past the hem of the long t-shirt that was brushing her upper thighs and realized she wasn’t wearing anything underneath it. He used his left thumb to spread her open, his other hand releasing her thigh and twisting so that he could press a long finger into her tight cunt which was already sopping. He grunted at the feeling, remembering how good she had felt around him only a couple hours before. She broke away from their kiss and sighed as his finger started pumping in and out. Gendry pulled his hands away from her core, grabbing the hem of her t-shirt and pulling it over her head quickly before switching their positions, flipping Arya onto her back and hovering over her.

“I don’t want you to leave, I just want to explore you a little more this time,” he said in a low voice, his mouth next to her ear before he started kissing down her neck and collarbone, pausing for a couple minutes to lavish her small breasts with attention. He drew one pink nipple into his mouth, rolling it gently between his teeth as he pinched the other one between his fingers. He switched back and forth, making sure both breasts were given equal attention. Arya was gasping quietly, and wove the fingers of one hand into his shaggy hair, encouraging him to keep going. Once both nipples were hard peaks, glistening with his saliva, he began moving again. He pressed gentle kisses to her stomach, pausing to dip his tongue into her navel before finally settling on his belly with his head between her thighs.

He looked up to find her head straining to watch him as he wrapped his large hands around her strong thighs, pulling them apart slightly. He held eye contact with her as he finally lowered his mouth to her, dipping his tongue into her entrance before moving up, swirling quickly and deliberately around her engorged clit. Arya let out a soft moan, her head falling back onto the pillow as her hips pressed up against Gendry’s mouth. He tightened his grip around her thighs, trying to hold her still as he began sucking on the bundle of nerves, flicking it with his tongue.

The quiet of the room was punctuated only with Arya’s soft moans and the rustle of fabric as she wiggled on the sheets, at least until she wove the fingers of one hand through the hair on top of his head and pulled, causing Gendry to let out a low groan against her. The vibrations his groan sent through her clit went straight to her core, causing her to buck her hips against his face. He released one hand from a leg and wrapped his arm across her lower belly, holding her torso down as best as he could so that he could release his other hand and roughly shove two fingers inside her tight cunt.

He could tell she was close from the way her walls instantly clamped down around his fingers, pulling them in. He didn’t waste anytime as he began to roughly fuck her with his fingers as he continued his assault with his tongue, moaning against her all the while. As she fell over the edge, jerking underneath him as waves of pleasure tore through her, she was silent, which Gendry understood, but also heavily regretted. He wanted to hear her. When the roll of her hips finally stopped, he sat back on his haunches and saw that she had turned her head to the side and pulled the pillow around so that she could bite down on it during her orgasm, and was still panting heavily into it.

Gendry dragged his forearm across his mouth before he began to crawl back up the bed over her small body, between her thighs. He gently tugged on her chin as his face came to be level with hers, pulling her mouth away from the pillow so that he could claim it with his own. He kissed her slowly, knowing from experience that she may need a few minutes for her senses to come back to her after she came. He plunged his tongue into her mouth, languidly exploring and willing her to experience what her pleasure tasted like on his tongue.

Arya moaned as she tasted herself, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and lifting her body so that her torso was pressed against his. Gendry wasted no time in wrapping an arm around her waist, grinding his hardness against her.

“Gendry,” she moaned quietly against his lips, before she began tugging on his shorts, freeing his cock in a matter of seconds. He kicked the shorts off and gripped himself, rubbing his shaft against Arya’s wetness, looking down at where they were touching. “We used my last condom,” she whispered.

He let out a heavy breath before he rolled away, digging in his bag over the foot of the bed for a moment, glad he had been optimistic about wedding sex when he had packed.He found what he was looking for and shuffled back up the bed, where Arya was still laying as he put the condom on. He settled back between her thighs, kissing her gently as he lined himself up. Arya kissed him back as he began to push into her, but she bit his lower lip hard before she wrapped a foot around his leg and flipped him onto his back with ease, sinking down onto him completely and letting out a quiet but obscene moan.

Gendry lost himself quickly, watching Arya ride him. He kept his hands wrapped around her waist, occasionally drifting up to grasp a breast or tweak a nipple. But Arya couldn’t seem to settle on one position. She had her hands on his lower stomach for a while, fucking him hard and quick, before she lunged forward to plunge her tongue into his mouth, matching her long and languid thrusts with the sloppy kisses they shared. When she grew bored of that, she placed her hands on his strong chest, settling into a steady but intense rhythm. When that had worked her up into a significant frenzy, her back began to arch, pulling her up as she rose and fell above him with purpose, her hands moving back to their original place, low on his belly, as he gripped her hip with one hand, bucking his hips up to meet her every thrust, his other hand kneading her breast as he moaned quietly through his release, spilling inside the condom and desperately trying to draw out her orgasm at the same time.

As Gendry came down, he continued to roll his hips against Arya until she collapsed against his chest, panting and moaning softly. He brought his hands around to gently rub up and down her back, occasionally letting one drift down an arm or brush her hair off her sweaty face. As his member began to soften inside her, he regretfully rolled them onto their sides so he could grasp the top of the condom as he pulled out of her warmth. He rolled away and off the bed, padding into the bathroom and disposing of the condom before quickly returning to his bed, where Arya was sitting up facing the window and pulling her large shirt back on. He slid onto the bed behind her, wrapping an arm around her waist and tugging her into a lying position, with her back against his chest, and using his other hand to tug the blankets back up and around them. He began peppering soft kisses across her shoulders.

“I can’t sleep here, Gendry,” she said, though she made no move to pull away.

“I know,” he sighed sleepily against the back of her neck as he continued to kiss her soft skin. “Just a little while,” he said, as he laid his head back on the pillow and pulled her a little closer with the arm still wrapped around her waist.

Arya hummed in contentment and nodded her agreement to stay for a bit, and Gendry quickly drifted into a peaceful sleep.

***********

When Gendry woke up on Wednesday morning, he was alone, but still on his side facing the window, his arm outstretched as if he had reached for Arya in his sleep as she slipped away in the night. He wondered how long she had stayed, regretting that he didn’t kiss her one last time. He rolled onto his back with a groan, rubbing his hands over his face. He began to wonder what he had gotten himself into.

Arya had just gotten out of an intense relationship, and while their first time on the plane had been passionate and full of lust, their second coupling had been something else. She was frenzied and desperate, like she was trying to erase the memory of whatever had happened in Braavos from her mind. The more he thought about it, the more he was starting to feel like a rebound fuck. Normally that wouldn’t bother him so much, but with Arya, he found himself wanting more. He wanted to have her to himself for the next four nights, even if it had to be a secret. He wanted to take her slowly, whispering filthy things in her ear, and then hold her as they fell asleep, telling her how beautiful she was, how good she made him feel. He wanted her to apply for jobs in King’s Landing so maybe they could give whatever it was that was happening between them a real go of it.

But all the things about her that he felt so drawn to were also the same things telling him that none of the things he wanted from her were in the cards for them.

“Fuuuuck,” he groaned, just as the door to his room burst open. Jon and Robb both strode into the room, Robb throwing himself facedown onto the bed at Gendry’s feet with as much drama as he could muster, and Jon began to pace in front of the window.

“Oh good, you’re up, we need to get going soon. We’re meant to be picking up the programs for the ceremony by eleven so we can make our final tux fitting at noon, and mom insists on feeding you,” Jon said, before he paused his pacing, looking down at something on his phone.

Gendry felt his stomach lurch as he saw the condom wrapper from the night before lying on the floor by Jon’s feet, and did his very best to stay calm. He just had to get them out of the room as quickly as possible.

“Yeah, well, I’ll get up and get showered, but I need you two to get out of here first.”

“What, are you sleeping naked these days?” Jon asked, typing quickly on his phone.

Gendry shifted uncomfortably, pulling the blankets up a bit. “Sometimes.”

“Okay, whatever,” Jon said, tucking his phone back into his pocket and walking back towards the open door. “You have fifteen minutes to be downstairs.”

Robb groaned and rolled off the bed, following Jon out of the room. He paused at the door, turning to pull it shut behind him, and said, “Prepare yourself, man. Jon has turned into a complete bridezilla,” before pulling the door shut behind him.

Gendry let out a huff of air and scrambled out of the bed, grabbing the condom wrapper and rushing into the bathroom to deposit it in the trash. As he looked down at the trash, the thought of Catelyn Stark coming through to collect the trash bag after he left made his stomach turn. He grabbed a couple tissues and hastily wrapped the wrapper and the condom, hoping it would conceal the true contents of the little trash can.

He let out a sigh, knowing how awkward the conversation with Robb and Jon would have gone, had they seen the wrapper. He turned the water on as hot as he could stand and jumped into the shower, quickly washing himself.

He was downstairs in twelve minutes, his hair dripping onto the soft blue t-shirt he had pulled on with his jeans. He let himself into the large kitchen, and took in the scene. Sansa was sitting at the back of the breakfast nook (if you could call an area that seats eight people a nook) taking careful notes as Ygritte calmly listed off the things that needed to get done before the rehearsal on Friday, her chin in her hand as she thought. Arya was on the other side of Ygritte, a cup of coffee in one hand and a piece of toast in the other, with her eyes closed and a small smile on her face. He wondered if she was happy to be home in the chaos of the Stark household.

On the other side of Sansa was Robb, who had his arm around the shoulders of Theon Greyjoy, his childhood best friend and now boyfriend, who had his legs stretched out over the remaining bench on that side. Robb was glaring at Jon and whispering something in Theon’s ear that was causing him to shake with barely contained laughter. Bran was pulled up in his wheelchair on the edge of the table, quietly eating his breakfast. Jon had resumed his pacing, this time in front of the refrigerator, typing on his phone and mumbling about the programs. Rickon was sitting on the counter with a plate of bacon, happily shoveling piece after piece into his mouth. Cat was standing by the sink, looking around the kitchen when her eyes landed on him.

“Gendry, you’re up! Have a seat, I have your breakfast in the oven. You take your coffee black, right?” She said, grabbing a hot mitt and opening the oven door.

Gendry felt his cheeks heat up as he walked toward the table, his eyes meeting Arya’s. She gave him a warm smile, scooting closer to Ygritte to make room for him. He felt his stomach flip at the gesture, and gave her a small smile as he slid in next to her.

“How did you sleep?” She said, smirking slightly as Catelyn put a plate loaded with eggs, bacon, beans, and toast as well as a large mug of steaming coffee in front of him.

“Thanks Cat,” Gendry said, reaching for the coffee first. “I slept exceptionally well, Arya, thanks. How did you sleep?” He said, trying not to look at her and trying even harder to ignore the small hand that was now resting on his knee.

“Oh I slept quite well. I had a very strenuous day yesterday, so that helped.”

Gendry choked a little on his coffee as she said that, her fingers now tracing patterns on his inner thigh.

“Yes, that always helps,” he said as he set down his coffee and picked up his fork. Arya, thankfully, didn’t seem to want to torture him too much, and he felt her hand retreat as he began eating.

“So how’s the life of a poor artist treating you, Gen,” Theon said, still leaning against Robb but turning his head to look at him.

“It’s alright, Theon. I’m not that poor, my photography gets me by just fine, thank you,” Gendry said around a mouthful of toast. Theon was never his favorite person, but he was always around the Stark house as long as Gendry had been and before, and Gendry had learned it was easier to just deal with him than it was to argue a long time ago.

“Oh I didn’t know you had moved into photography, Gendry. What about your sculptures?” Catelyn asked from the sink, where she was washing dishes.

“I still do my sculptures, they are my preferred medium, but event photography is paying my bills for the time being.”

“Oh yes, I remember that,” Cat said before Jon let out a huff of annoyance.

“Yes, Gendry is very talented, but this week isn’t about him!” Jon said, continuing to pace and turning very red.

“Jon, sweetie, why don’t you have a seat? And maybe put down the coffee?” Ygritte said in what sounded like a calming tone but everyone in the kitchen recognized it as a thinly veiled threat. When Jon looked up at her, his face caught between fear and annoyance, she went on, “I’m the one that is supposed to be having a meltdown, not you. Everything is under control. We have a list of things to do, eight people plus ourselves to help, and three full days. Everything is fine and I need you to calm down.”

Jon let out a huff of annoyance, but he set the mug of coffee he was holding by the sink and went over to the table, shoving Theon’s legs off the bench and sitting down.

“Can I at least look at the list?” Jon said, reaching for the notepad in front of Sansa.

Gendry quickly finished eating his breakfast and gulped down his coffee as Jon looked over the list, knowing his calmness wouldn’t last long. As he walked his plate over to the sink, Jon stood up and clapped his hands.

“Alright lads, let’s hit the road, lots to do!”

Rickon, Bran, and Robb all let out loud groans of annoyance as they began filing out of the kitchen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm not sure when I'll have another chapter, but it will be relatively soon. As always, please let me know what you think!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gendry attempts to talk to Arya amid copious distractions.

After a long morning of tux fittings (during which Gendry heavily resented that Sam got to work the rest of the week and only had to be around Jon for an hour), and picking up the programs from the printers, Gendry was happy to be dropped off at the house with the task of folding said programs. The Stark men had more errands to run, and Gendry was left in the relative peace of the Stark house.

When he let himself in, he found Arya, Sansa, and Ygritte in the living room, huddled around a large white poster board with large circles and lots of sticky notes on the coffee table. He lowered himself to the floor on the empty side of the table, setting the box in front of him. “Mind if I join you ladies?” He said as he pulled the lid off the box.

“Gods you’re so stupid,” Arya said, scowling at him.

He let a loud bark of laughter escape as Sansa said, “Arya! Can’t you be nice for one day?”

“I was so nice on the plane last night, I’m sure Gendry will tell you he has no complaints,” Arya said causing Gendry to turn bright red, before she picked two sticky notes off the board. “You can’t put Aunt Lysa and Robin by the Reeds. We like the Reeds, remember?” 

“Well, where would you suggest we put Lysa and Robin? Because I can’t figure it out,” Sansa said with a huff of annoyance.

“Okay, hear me out,” Arya said as she began movie other sticky notes around a table. “Let’s put them with Uncle Edmure and Aunt Roslin. Roslin is so nice that Lysa can’t seem to be as mean to her as she is everyone else. And Edmure is used to her. Then to fill out the table, the Mormonts. Lyanna won’t take any of Lysa’s shit, plus she’s a kid so maybe that will keep Lysa in check.”

“She’s seventeen, Arya, don’t let her hear you calling her a kid,” Sansa said as Ygritte giggled at Arya’s reasoning.

Gendry began folding the programs carefully, lining up the edges before creasing them, his attention flicking back and forth between the movie playing softly on the television and Arya making snide comments about her least favorite relatives. After about an hour, Gendry had finished the programs, replacing them in the box with the lid on for safekeeping, and moved up to the couch.

A few minutes later, Catelyn came out of the kitchen with a plate full of sandwiches and a bowl of chips. Arya quickly grabbed two sandwiches and the bowl, moving up to the couch next to Gendry and placing the chips in his lap as she began to devour her sandwich. He chuckled and ate his at a much more leisurely pace, enjoying her sitting so close to him. They both ate a good portion of chips before Sansa stole it back for her and Ygritte on the other couch.

Once the movie had ended, Arya picked out another one, hitting play before sitting back against the couch. Sansa and Ygritte finished their lunch and moved back to the floor, continuing to work on the seating chart. Gendry was about to ask Arya if she was going to help them when he felt her head on his shoulder. He looked down to find her eyes closed, letting out slow breaths, as she had fallen fast asleep.

Cat came back to clear the dishes, and glanced at Arya and Gendry on the couch. “I’m sorry Gendry, do you mind? Poor thing has never handled her jet lag very well, and she does need to get caught up on sleep before Friday,” Catelyn said quietly, gesturing to Arya with the empty chip bowl.

He shook his head, smiling as Cat nodded and turned away. Sansa stood up and tugged a blanket off the back of the other couch and draped it over Arya. “You’re stuck there until she wakes up, you know.”

“I know,” he said, shifting a little to settle in. He tried to pay attention to the movie but his mind kept drifting back to the sleeping woman at his side. He knew he was in danger. They had fucked twice, and talked a bit, but he was absolutely smitten with her. His best friend was her older brother, and he didn’t even know how she felt about the whole situation. He needed to talk to her, get a clear idea of how she was viewing whatever it was they were doing, and then maybe he would be able to reign in the feelings that were swirling around in his chest.

Once that movie ended, Ygritte picked up the seating chart and headed back to the dining room, where most of the wedding things were being kept. Sansa followed behind her with the programs, but paused in the doorway of the living room. “Do you need anything?”

Gendry shook his head again, and grabbed the remote from the back of the couch where Arya had left it. Once Sansa was out of the room, he gently pulled his arm out from under Arya’s head, wrapping it around her shoulders before he began looking for something else to watch. Arya shifted slightly, getting comfortable against his chest now, bringing a hand up to rest on his stomach as she continued to sleep.

About thirty minutes into the new movie, Arya began to shift as she made her way back to consciousness. Gendry narrowly avoided being punched in the face when she suddenly lifted her arms and let out a groan as she stretched.

“Good morning, sleepyhead,” he said playfully, keeping his arm around her shoulders.

“Mmmmm how long was I out?” She asked in a husky voice.

“A couple hours.”

Arya let out a hum of acknowledgement, watching the movie for a few minutes in silence. Finally, Gendry worked up enough nerve to broach the subject that had been on his mind all day, glancing quickly at the door to the living room to make sure they were still alone.

“Can we talk?”

“Mhmm. What do you want to talk about?” Arya said, her tone full of mischief.

“You know what I want to talk about, Arry.”

Arya let out a huff of annoyance. “Why do you always have to be so serious?” She grumbled.

“Oh, come on! I’m not serious, I’m so fun!” He said, shifting the arm that was around her so that he could pinch her side, eliciting a loud gasp from Arya as she twisted next to him to get away from his fingers. “But I do want to talk about us.” _Shit, not “us", too serious._ “Or like, this, whatever it is that we’re doing,” he finished quickly.

“Okay. What’s on your mind?” Arya said, leaning back a little so that she could look him in the eye.

At that moment, there was the sound of the front door opening down the hall, followed by Jon’s panicked voice yelling, “Gendry come help with the shopping!”

Gendry let out a quiet groan of annoyance before he yelled back, “Coming!” And began extricating himself from Arya.

Before he could stand up, Arya grabbed the collar of his shirt and brought her lips to his in a quick but searing kiss before whispering, “I’ll come see you tonight, we can talk.”

Gendry stumbled out the front door, the taste of Arya’s lips still fresh on his own, and dazedly helped Robb, Theon, and Rickon unload a ridiculous amount of stuff from the back of the van. Jon, meanwhile, began pacing back and forth in front of the van listing off things that still needed doing. Ironically, he did not help as the four other men made five trips each in and out of the house.

“You know, Jon, for someone freaking out about how much there still is to do, you’re not actually helping,” Theon grumbled on his last trip in with his arms loaded down with bags. Jon scowled but didn’t say anything as he followed him to the dining room and began sorting the contents of the bags.

Gendry was close behind Jon, and after he set down his last load of bags, he stepped up next to Jon and patted him on the shoulder in what he hoped was a soothing manner. “What can I do to help?”

Jon sighed, dropping his hands to his side and looked at where his fiancé was sitting on the other side of the table with Sansa, filling out small cards with guest names. “Ygritte, what else do we need to do today? I’ll work on sorting the stuff for the gift bags, what can Gendry do?”

Ygritte carefully capped the pen she was using before she stood up and walked around the table, cupping Jon’s face between her hands.

“We’re putting together the gift bags tomorrow, sweetie, I told you that. The only thing left on the list today is finishing place cards and the seating chart, which Sansa and I have under control. Why don’t you have a beer with Gendry and try to relax a little? We have plenty of time,” Ygritte said in a calm voice. Jon sighed and leaned forward as Ygritte pulled him into a hug, rubbing circles on his back.

“I just want everything to be perfect,” he mumbled as Gendry slipped out of the room and into the kitchen, going straight to the fridge and digging out a couple beers. When he slipped back into the dining room, Ygritte was still holding Jon, and she gave Gendry a smile that was somewhere between exasperated and fond as she rolled her eyes. After another moment, Jon stepped back, looking around for Gendry, who held out the two beers and smiled. Jon sighed and jerked his head before leading Gendry out the door in the corner and onto the large deck.

As the two men cracked open their beers and leaned against the railing, Jon started talking again. “So tomorrow we need to do the gift—“

“Dude, I think the point of this is for you to not think about the wedding for a few minutes. How’s work been?” Gendry said, shaking his head at Jon. Robb had not been kidding about him being a bridezilla.

At this, Jon smiled, taking a sip of his beer before he launched into a long winded story about his job as a park ranger in the far north. Jon loved his work, and it was how he had met Ygritte, as she was from the far north and she worked closely with the rangers to represent the interests of her people. Jon told Gendry about how Ygritte and he were working on setting up climbing expeditions led by other northerners up the wall.

Gendry smiled and listened, asking lots of questions in an effort to keep Jon calm and talking. When Jon seemed to have nothing else to say, he took a large pull off his can and said, “So how are things in King’s Landing? Are you seeing anyone?”

Gendry chuckled uncomfortably and took a generous gulp of beer before answering. “King’s Landing is alright. Same old shithole, but business is good. I might have a lead on a gallery that will show my sculptures.”

Jon nodded, his forehead creasing. “That’s good. And the second part? I guess no one serious since you didn’t bring a plus one.”

Gendry nodded, not making eye contact and grateful for once that Jon wasn’t particularly perceptive. He chose his words carefully before continuing, “Yeah, no one serious in King’s Landing. Went on a few dates with a woman about six months back but it didn’t work out.”

Jon nodded. “Do you want someone serious at some point? You’re pushing thirty, man. If you’re going to be my bachelor friend forever, that’s fine, I’m just curious is all.”

Gendry sighed, wondering how his entire day had turned into him stressing about his love life, a subject that he normally gave next to no thought to. “I don’t know. I’ve been so focussed on making a name for myself in the art world that I never gave it much thought until recently.” _Very recently_ the voice in the back of his head grumbled.

“Is there a particular reason why it’s been on your mind recently?”

Gendry was getting more annoyed by the second at the course this conversation had taken. “I don’t know. Maybe there’s someone on my mind. But I barely know her so that’s crazy. I don’t want to talk about this,” Gendry grumbled.

“Alright man, I get it,” Jon said before he emptied his can with one last gulp, before crushing it in his hand and turning back toward the door. “Back to wedding stuff!” Jon said as he tore open the door and walked inside. Gendry let out a groan and followed him.

************

Ned Stark arrived back at the house around 6, and he brought a large stack of pizzas with him. The whole family plus Ygritte, Theon, and Gendry gathered in the living room, filling up on pizza and chatting. It was far from quiet and Gendry enjoyed the loud chaos that came along with the whole Stark clan being back together, something he hadn’t seen in over a decade. Once they had finished eating, Rickon picked out a loud action movie and they all sprawled out over the living room to watch. Jon was snoring quietly in an armchair fifteen minutes into the movie, clearly exhausted from his manic behavior throughout the day.

Gendry ended up back on the couch with Arya, and once Jon had dozed off, she dropped her head against his shoulder as she had while she napped that afternoon. Robb looked over at them from the other couch, giving Gendry a curious look. Gendry did his best to look casual as he gave a small shrug, while inside he was relishing in her closeness. He desperately wanted to grab her hand and wrap it in his own, but he managed to resist the urge.

Once the credits rolled, Ygritte shook Jon awake and began ushering him upstairs to his room, and everyone else seemed to decide it was probably a good idea to make it an early night, since the next three would be late ones. Gendry reluctantly pulled away from Arya, standing up and heading to his guest room, but not before giving her a quick questioning look to which she responded with a small nod and headed in the opposite direction.

Gendry let himself into his room and stripped down to his boxers, brushed his teeth, and slipped into bed. Arya had waited until everyone was asleep before sneaking to his room the night before, and he figured he had some time to kill before she would show up for their talk. He pulled his sketchpad out and began idly working on some new ideas for his next sculpture. After about an hour, he dozed off, his sketchpad falling to his lap. He slipped into a strange dream, his skin prickling with heat as he stood near a burning forge.

Gendry brought the hammer that was in his hand down on the anvil, shaping a sword. He glanced up at the forge again, and when he looked back down, Arya was kneeling between him and the anvil. The hammer and sword he had been holding were gone as he felt Arya’s fingers on his stomach, pulling down the breeches he was wearing. She wrapped her hand around his cock as it sprang free of his pants, pumping up and down a couple times until he was fully hard before wrapping her lips around the tip and sucking, her tongue drawing patterns against him.

He let out a loud groan, which wrenched him out of the dream and back into consciousness. As he opened his eyes, he felt disappointed for only a second before he looked down and found that Arya was indeed kneeling between his legs, one hand around him and the other coming up to press a finger to her lips, shushing him quietly before she lowered her head and began sucking him off in earnest, her head bobbing up and down as she tried to take more of him in, her hand moving in tandem with her mouth to provide friction to the base.

Gendry watched in awe for a minute, loving the sight of her lips stretching around his cock. He brought a hand up and pushed her hair back off her face, wrapping his hand around the back of her head and guiding her a little, showing her how he liked to be sucked off. He began to feel the familiar tightening low in his belly that proceeds an orgasm, bucking his hips a little under her fervent ministrations. Reluctantly, he dropped his hand to her shoulder and pushed her, just enough for her to get the idea. She released him quickly and shuffled up the bed, once again wearing only a large t-shirt. Her hair was messy and her lips were red. Gendry sat up and wasted no time in wrapping his hand around the back of her head again and pulling her face to his. He crushed their lips together, groaning quietly at the taste of her mouth as his tongue plunged in to tangle with hers.

When Arya’s lips broke away from his so she could catch her breath, his lips just moved to her neck as his hands tugged her sleep shirt up and over her head, latching back onto her neck and grasping her breasts as he began to suck at the soft skin below her ear. He smiled against her as he heard her whimper at the sensation, grinding her hips down on him.

“I thought we were supposed to be talking?” She said quietly, her breath hitching as he bucked his hardness up against her.

“You started it,” he whispered before he suddenly lifted her off of his lap and moved to the end of the bed, once again digging out a condom as he kicked his boxers the rest of the way off. He moved back towards Arya as he ripped open the package and rolled the latex onto himself. She twisted around to face him, but he quickly grabbed her hips and pulled her backside towards him, causing her to fall forward and catch herself with her hands, now on all fours in front of him, her knees bracketing his.

Gendry grasped his cock with one hand, keeping the other on her hip, and began rubbing it down her slit until it pressed against her clit, causing Arya to drop to her elbows and arch her back, pushing back against him. He pulled away a bit, dragging his cock back up her slit, feeling her push back against him when he got to her entrance, but he tightened his grip on her hip and pushed back down, rubbing himself against her clit again and coating his shaft in her wetness. He repeated this motion a few more times until Arya quietly whimpered, “Please Gendry.”

“Please what? We’re supposed to be talking. Tell me what you want, Arya,” Gendry said in a low, rough voice.

“Please, I want you inside me,” she whined, pushing back against him as he came back up to her entrance. He acquiesced, pushing forward and loosening his hold on her hip so she could push back until his hips were flush with her firm ass, her tight heat holding onto every inch of him. Arya let out a quiet sigh once he was fully seated inside her, and he choked down a moan.

He wanted to drag this out, so he took his time, setting a languid pace as he pulled out about halfway and then pushed forward again, relishing the sound of their skin slapping together every time he would bottom out inside of her. Arya was clearly growing impatient, pushing back against him and clenching her walls around him, trying to entice him to pick up the pace, but he wanted her to say it, so he held firm and maintained his leisurely pace.

“Gendry, please, harder,” Arya panted, dropping from her elbows to lay her face flat against the bed. Gendry responded by snapping his hips against her with more force, but did not increase the speed. He did drop one hand from her hip, bending over her back and resting on his elbow. As he settled back into his rhythm in the new position, he slipped his other hand off her hip and around to begin rubbing slow circles against her clit. He could feel her walls fluttering around him, but she was wriggling her hips, still needing more to push her over the edge.

“More,” she gasped.

“More what?”

“Faster!”

“As m’lady commands,” Gendry whispered before biting down on her shoulder as he increased the speed of his hips, plunging his cock into her tight cunt as fast as he could, matching his fingers on her clit to the speed of his thrusts. In a matter of seconds, Arya’s whole body tensed and she buried her face against the mattress to muffle the wail that escaped as she fell over the edge, clenching around his cock. When he was certain that she was finished, he pulled out of her quickly, yanking off the condom as he pushed back up onto his knees, stroking himself furiously as he came all over her perfect ass, grunting quietly.

Gendry sat back on his heels, panting and staring at the mess he made for a moment before he came to his senses. Arya continued to lay still, catching her breath and letting out soft hums of contentment every once in a while. When he could move again, he grabbed the condom and the wrapper, taking both to the bathroom and wrapping them in a tissue before stuffing them into the trash, then wetting a washcloth and going back to the bed, gently cleaning between Arya’s legs before wiping his mess off her ass. He took it back to the bathroom to rinse and when he came back out, Arya was nestled under the covers, her eyes following him. He flicked off the lamp on the bedside table and crawled in beside her, pulling her close as she settled with her head on his arm and her hands against his chest.

“So, you wanted to talk about what this is?” Arya said, looking at her hands against his chest as she began twirling the smattering of chest hair.

“Yeah. I just… I mean if this is just a casual wedding fling, I can deal with that but… I really like you, Arya. And I have to be honest with you, I think I want more than that.”

Arya let out a quiet sigh, before rolling over to face the window. She didn’t pull away though, so Gendry wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close.

“I really like you too, Gendry. But you know I just got out of a really intense relationship, I’m not ready for anything serious right now. Can’t we just have some fun this week? I’m honestly not ready to think past that right now.”

Gendry felt his stomach clench, though this was the answer he had been expecting. He didn’t expect how much he would dislike it, however.

“Of course, I totally understand,” Gendry said, only half lying. “Do you think you could maybe think about us staying friends after this? Maybe leave the door open for something in the future?”

Arya turned her head and placed a gentle kiss on the arm that was still functioning as her pillow and whispered, “Yeah, I could do that.”

Gendry nodded, placing a soft kiss against her shoulder, glad she hadn’t immediately pulled her shirt on like she had done the night before.

“Will you stay for a bit?” Gendry said, hoping she didn’t hear the desperation in his voice.

“Yes,” Arya whispered, and Gendry decided that was good enough, at least for the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter came pretty quick because of an unexpected death in the family on Sunday. I blew off work and class for a couple days because I'm sad, and writing was a helpful distraction from laying on my couch and sobbing on my doggo, which she does not appreciate. The next chapter will not come so quickly, as I have to get back to class and work and then go to a funeral this weekend. Will aim to have it up in a week or so but I'm making no promises.
> 
> As always, gimme all the feedback.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gendry and Arya get caught up while everyone else gets trashed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just want to say thank you all for your kind words and your patience. This chapter turned out a lot different than I had planned it but I actually love how it turned out, hope you all do too. I've been very contemplative about it and then literally just sat down and wrote it all in one sitting which is not normally something I do but it worked.
> 
> As you'll also notice, I upped the chapter count. Decided the end needed to be split up into two parts.
> 
> Also maybe like a trigger warning? For discussions of domestic abuse? It's nothing too wild or graphic, just getting a little deeper on Arya's past. Sorry I'm not great at tagging but I felt like maybe I should do a warning of that.

Gendry woke up early the next morning, the sound of Arya gasping as she jumped out of the bed drawing him into consciousness. The sky outside was just beginning to brighten, the sun not yet peaking over the horizon. Jon was outside talking to Ghost as the large dog ran around the yard, his voice drifting in through the cracked window. Gendry sat up and watched Arya as she grabbed her t-shirt from the corner Gendry had thrown it into the night before, pulling it on quickly before heading for the door. She turned and looked at him as she grasped the handle, noticing he was awake. She gave him a small smile before running back to the bed, crawling into his lap, and crashing her lips against his. There was no time for the kiss to turn heated, as Arya pulled away just as he parted his lips. She had slipped away and was out the door before his eyes opened again.

Gendry sighed, leaning back onto the bed again with the intention of trying to go back to sleep. He rolled onto his side facing the window again, trying to ignore the crushing sadness he felt in his chest. It was not easy, as he rolled onto the pillow Arya had been using, the scent of her hair still lingering. He lay there, watching the sunrise through the window, and thinking of Arya. He had slept well, despite his displeasure at how their conversation had turned out the night before. He tried not to think he slept well because she was there, but the thought kept creeping in. When the sun had risen fully, Gendry could hear movement downstairs, and gave up on getting more sleep. He took a long and very hot shower before dressing for the day and going downstairs. 

Gendry spent the morning helping Jon, Robb, and Theon put together gift bags for out of town guests before taking them over to the hotel in the afternoon, and picking up some things for Catelyn from the local chocolatier. The bachelor party was that night so they all rested in the late afternoon before an early dinner and heading to their separate rooms to get ready.

Gendry had spent a lot of time coordinating with Robb on the bachelor party, and he was eager for it to go well. However, as they piled into the limo at seven with Jon and Theon, Sam already inside with a couple of Jon’s friends from work and a magnum of champagne, Gendry had never felt less in the mood to party in his life. Still he tried, as they made it through the first stop at a hip beer garden for a round of corn hole and beers, Gendry managed to fake it enough not to draw any suspicion. By the third bar, he had run out of fake enthusiasm, but everyone else was very drunk by then and didn’t seem to notice his lack of interest.

It was at the fifth bar, around midnight, that they ran into the women, out on their own adventure through Winterfell. Ygritte, who did not seem any different than usual other than a faint flush on her cheeks, pointed at Jon and announced loudly for the whole bar to hear, “That’s him! That’s the miserable sod I’m marrying on Saturday and I can’t wait!” Before grabbing his wrist and pulling him onto the dance floor. Despite her calling him a miserable sod, Jon was beaming as he drunkenly stumbled after his wife-to-be, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her soundly as she tried to dance with him.

Gendry made his way to the bar, ordered his third beer of the night, and found a vacant booth in the corner to keep an eye on his drunk friends. He nursed the beer for a while and watched the dance floor, trying to convince himself that he wasn’t looking for Arya as he scanned the crowd, he was trying to keep track of his friends.

He knew he was being a drag at this point. Jon was getting married in two days, and they were supposed to be getting wild and celebrating, and instead, Gendry had spent most of the evening silently watching his friends have a great time. He was having a hard time getting in the mood to celebrate love when he had a bad feeling he was in the middle of getting his heart broken. He finished the beer and turned his attention to the bottle, spending a good ten minutes carefully peeling off the label.

“What are you doing, sulking over here? Already too drunk to stand?” Arya’s voice pulled him out of his reverie as she slid into the booth next to him, sliding another beer across the table towards him.

He couldn’t help the grin that took over his face as he looked up at her. “Hardly,” he said, leaning close to her so he didn’t have to yell over the music. And also because he liked being close to her.

She leaned back, studying his face. “Are you sober?”

He shrugged, turning his attention back to the empty beer bottle. “Close enough. Someone has to keep track of your wasted brothers,” he said, nodding his head towards the dance floor, where Jon was slumped around Ygritte’s shoulders and Robb and Theon were grinding sloppily, swaying a little too drunkenly be in time with the music.

“I’m not sure I believe you,” she said, although it was more of a question than a statement.

“What about you then? You don’t seem too deep in your cups either,” Gendry accused, trying to divert her attention away from his motive for not being as drunk as his companions.

“Well, I don’t really ever have more than a couple drinks. I hate how out of control I feel when I’m drunk,” Arya said, shrugging. Gendry nodded, still pulling at the label on the bottle. Arya seemed to lose patience as she snatched the bottle out of his hand and moved it out of his reach. He finally looked at her again as he reached for the fresh beer she had brought him, an eyebrow raised in a question. “Why are you not partying with them?”

Gendry sighed, glancing around to make sure none of their companions were nearby before he lifted an arm to rest on the booth behind her shoulders, leaning down to whisper in her ear, “I guess I’m not really in the mood, m’lady.”

Arya poked him in the ribs before she said, “Don’t call me that.” She paused for a moment, thinking over her next question. “Is that because of me?”

Gendry sighed, leaning back a bit and bringing his other arm up, pinching the bridge of his nose as his eyes scrunched closed. He dropped his hand eventually and looked back at her expectant face. “Yes. No. I mean it’s not your fault, and you’ve been so honest with me about your intentions with all of this. I just… I feel like I’m being ridiculous, but every second I spend with you, the less I can stomach the idea of leaving in three days and not knowing when I’ll see or hear from you again. If another ten years go by, I don’t know what I’ll do.”

“Well, then I suppose we’ll just both have to make sure it’s not another ten years.”

Gendry nodded, looking back down at Arya. She was smiling at him, but he could also see concern brimming in her eyes. He did his best to return her smile, relief washing through him as he saw her concern fade away. Even through his disappointment, he still wanted Arya to be happy. His growing feelings were not her fault when it had been clear that their hookups were casual from the beginning. He barely knew her. So he decided to do the one thing that could make him feel worse, and spend some time getting to know her better.

“So tell me, what have you been up to the last ten years? I mean I’m pretty caught up on the last two weeks of your life, but what about before that?”

Arya’s face turned thoughtful and she looked away. She seemed to take a minute to gather her thoughts before she started talking. “Well, middle school sucked, high school was better once Sansa finally stopped hanging out with that bitch, Jeyne Poole. I got really into fencing right after you and Jon left for college, and I ended up getting a scholarship for it, that’s how I ended up in Braavos.”

“Do you want to continue? Are there professional fencers?”

“Yes, there are professional fencers, but no, I don’t want to do that. I mean I told you I want to go to law school eventually, I want to fight for justice for those who continue to be hurt by the classist system of Westeros. Fight for kids like you that had to be shuffled from home to home for years just trying to find someone to take care of them. I want to take down the goddamn Frey crime syndicate. But I think I would like coaching one or two kids who want to learn? Nothing full time, but it would be nice to share my talents and also keep up with my own training. My old coach is down in King’s Landing now, but I’m going to get in touch with him next week and see if he knows of anyone who’s looking for a coach.”

Gendry couldn’t help his smile from growing, listening to her talk about all the things she was passionate about. “So you want to go into politics?”

“Maybe,” Arya responded, her face thoughtful. “Or work for a humanitarian organization of some kind doing lobbying.”

“That makes sense,” Gendry said, thoughtful about his next question, but he was saved the trouble by a sudden outburst from Arya.

“I’m clean, and I have an IUD. It’s an awkward conversation to have in the heat of the moment, but if you’re clean, we can just…” Arya trailed off, blushing furiously and looking down at her hands which were resting on the table.

Gendry didn’t say anything for a moment, a little surprised at the sharp turn the conversation had taken, but he let out a quiet chuckle.

“That’s good to know. I’m also clean, I get tested every few months, and I’m always careful.”

“Jaqen and… let’s just call her the waif, I don’t even want to say her name… They’re the only people I’ve ever been with, besides you,” Arya said, still looking down at her hands.

Gendry did his best to hide his surprise at this revelation. “How long were you… with them?”

“Two and a half years. He was my fencing coach at first. I fell in love with him, but he was already with her, they had been together for years. When he brought me in, it… It seemed like we would all be equals. She was a coach too. We would train together and we would sleep together. I was young and in love and it seemed like fun. But we weren’t equals. She would use training me as an excuse to treat me like her own personal punching bag. She made me a better fencer, but she was also abusive. I can see that now. And he would never do anything to go against her. I shouldn’t have been surprised when he didn’t do anything to stop her from trying to stab me. It was always on me to protect myself from her rage.”

Gendry was working very hard to stay calm. He was furious at the thought of Arya being in a relationship that was so intrinsically violent. He believed that polyamorous relationships could work for some people, but there is no way that couple should be allowed to bring in a young woman and manipulate her into that kind of abuse. Arya finally looked up at him and gave him a small smile and a shrug.

“I’ll say it again, I’m glad you got out of that situation,” Gendry said, his voice soft. “You deserve to be treated as an equal.” He didn’t say the part where he would always treat her as an equal if she gave him a chance, but he hoped she could read between the lines.

Arya looked down at the table, her fingers inching towards his where they were resting around the beer bottle, and Gendry quickly released the bottle to meet her wandering hand. She gently tangled her fingers with his, not really holding on.

“You’re a good listener,” she said quietly, and Gendry could see a faint shadow of a blush cross her cheeks in the dim lighting of the bar.

“You’re easy to listen to,” he said, scooting around the booth until their arms were touching from their shoulders to their entwined fingers, which they dropped from the table top to their laps, underneath.

“I’ve been talking too much. Tell me something about you,” Arya said, leaning her head on his shoulder.

“What do you want to know?” Gendry said, his eyes scanning the crowd, doing his best to keep tabs on the rather large group of drunk idiots they were out with. Sam was swaying on the edge of the dance floor with his wife and Ygritte’s best friend, Gilly. Robb and Theon were now leaning against a wall in the back and making out. Ygritte and Jon were still dancing, and Sansa and Ygritte’s older sister were jumping up and down in the middle of the crowd with a group of women he vaguely recognized from Winterfell High. Grenn and Pyp were chatting up the bartender.

“Why did you stay in King’s Landing after you and Jon finished school? I thought you hated it there?”

Gendry furrowed his brow, thinking through her question. “I did. That’s where my mother died, and where I had almost all of my worst foster homes. It’s where I found out that my father knew who I was and still didn’t want me when she died. But then I left. And Harrenhal sucked, but the Riverlands were okay, and then I came here. And I met Jon and your family and you all gave me the courage and the support I needed to pursue my art. And When Jon and I ended up there for uni, it was totally different. I was happy, and I had people who had my back. And if I’m going to make a name for myself as an artist, I have to start there. It’s the biggest art scene in Westeros. There are times when it’s hard, when I really miss my mom or run into someone from before, but mostly it’s good now.”

Arya nodded as he spoke, but she didn’t say anything for a while after he finished. She grabbed the beer out of his far hand, taking a sip.

“It’s really cool that you were able to reshape your feelings about it,” she said quietly. “I’m happy for you. I hope I can do that one day with Braavos. I loved it there for the most part but right now I feel like I never want to go back.”

Gendry didn’t know what to say, so he turned his head and pressed his lips into her hair, taking a moment to breath in the smell of her. When he looked back up, Theon had somehow ended up on the floor, Robb doubled over and laughing hysterically at him. “I think it’s time to get these fools home,” Gendry sighed, extricating himself from the warmth of Arya’s side and standing up.

Later, once Gendry had ensured all the guys were in bed with a glass of water and a trashcan nearby in case of an emergency, he let himself into his room and stripped quickly, heading for the bathroom and turning on the shower, not wanting to climb into bed smelling like five different bars.

As he was testing the water to see if it was warm enough yet, he heard a small creak behind him as the bathroom door opened. He smiled before he turned around. She hadn’t said she would sneak into his room again, but he was nonetheless optimistic. Neither of them said a word as he turned around, his smile growing as she quickly took off her sleep shirt and stepped towards him, following as he backed into the shower and pulling the door closed behind her.

They were both quiet as they took turns washing each other, their lips gently brushing wet skin as bubbles rinsed away. Any sounds they may have made when Gendry eventually picked Arya up and wrapped her legs around his waist, taking her against the wall, were swallowed by their kisses. It was only when Arya fell apart, her lips breaking away from his as she gasped out his name that the silence was finally broken. His name on her lips pushed him over the edge and he buried his face in her neck, letting out a long, low groan as he pumped his release into her.

He lowered her to the ground again, pulling her gently back under the stream of water and turning her so that her back was leaning against his chest, his arms wrapped around her to keep her steady, as her legs were very wobbly. He gently cleaned the remnants of their passion away before he turned off the water and opened the shower door, wrapping her in one of the fluffy towels hanging just outside before lifting her up and carrying her out of the bathroom and dropping her unceremoniously onto the bed. She let out a gasp that turned into a quiet laugh as he turned back and grabbed another towel, quickly drying his body before turning off the lights and falling back onto the bed next to her.

“I’m sorry I fucked you so hard that your legs stopped working, m’lady,” he mumbled, rolling onto his side and kissing her shoulder just above where the towel lay, wrapping his arm around her hips.

“I’m not,” she sighed, her eyes closed and a calm smile on her face. Then after a moment, “Don’t call me that.”

“Yes, m’lady,” Gendry sighed, tugging the blankets up over them, feeling much less rotten than he had at the beginning of the day. The voice at the back of his mind gently reminded him that nothing had changed as he drifted off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so this obviously got a little dark, I'm sorry, but you know, there's gotta be more than great sex. I want them to really know each other, as much as possible, in the span of four days.
> 
> I am having some trouble planning out the next couple chapters. I started this story intending to tell it all from Gendry's POV, but now I'm having some doubts, and I'm wondering if you all would like/hate/not give a shit about maybe a little Arya POV? Or maybe Sansa? I'm not totally sure I want to, and I would love to know if that would work or not for you all, as readers.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arya catches up with Sansa a bit and does some soul searching. Gendry continues to fall deeper.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I would like to start by apologizing for how long this took. If you've been reading you obviously know I'm going through some stuff, and then the end of the semester always kind of sneaks up on me. And THEN to top it all off, this chapter was being a little bitch. It has been like 90% done for two weeks but the end was giving me a lot of trouble. The good news is, it's a monster of a chapter. Anyway, enjoy.

Arya waited until Gendry was asleep, his breathing slow and steady against her shoulder and his arm limp across her stomach. She slipped out of the bed, quietly padding to the bathroom and grabbing her shirt. As she pulled it on, she looked at Gendry, his well muscled form silhouetted against the window on the other side of the bed. There was a part of her that wanted to crawl back in with him, and hope she would wake up before anyone else to sneak back, but she decided against it.

Arya made her way back to her room. She froze in the doorway, surprised to find the light on, and Sansa sitting on her bed drinking a bottle of water and scrolling through her phone. “So how’s Gendry?” Sansa said casually without looking up. She seemed to have sobered up a bit since she stumbled into her room an hour before, though she was still talking rather loud, and Arya rushed to closed the door.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Arya said, walking to the open duffle in the corner and digging out a pair of sweatpants, tugging them on quickly.

“You little slut, sneaking off to his room without pants on,” Sansa said, putting her phone down and twisting around to lay on her stomach, smiling suggestively at Arya as she turned around.

“I was in the kitchen having a snack,” Arya said, walking over to the bed and pushing Sansa to make space before crawling under the covers.

“For an hour? What did you eat?” Sansa asked, rolling onto her back.

“An apple.”

“It’s too early for apples, mum doesn’t start buying them until September.”

Arya let out a huff of annoyance. “What are you doing in here, Sansa?”

Sansa sat up, raising her hands in a defensive position. “I just wanted to spend some time with my sister that I’ve barely seen in four years! And then you weren’t in here and… Well, you two weren’t exactly being subtle at the bar tonight, all cozied up together in a dark corner. So how was he?”

“Sansa!” Arya gasped quietly. She hadn’t been around drunk Sansa much and was a little surprised at how saucy she was being.

“Oh come on, I have to know. He’s really hot, which, ya know, would usually mean he’s lazy, but he’s also like a sensitive artist… Plus he’s so big in general, so…?”

Arya sighed heavily, giving up on convincing Sansa that she wasn’t with Gendry for the past hour. “He’s proportional. And very attentive,” she said quietly, blushing furiously.

“Oh my gods, yes, tell me more! I need details, Arya!” Sansa exclaimed, clapping her hands excitedly.

“Sansa, please keep it down!” Arya said in a hushed voice.

Sansa sat up and looked at Arya, her brow furrowed. “Why aren’t you more excited about this? You’ve had a crush on him since you were like nine years old!”

“I mean, tonight wasn’t the first time, so it’s not like… And it’s just casual, we’re just having some fun, it doesn’t mean anything.”

Sansa looked even more confused. “Okay. When was the first time?” Arya turned very red at that question, wishing she hadn’t mentioned that part. “Arya! Tell me!”

“Gods, you’re so nosey,” Arya said, slumping down on the bed and pulling the covers up to her chin. “On the plane,” she finally whispered, her eyes darting quickly to the doorway and back, as if her mother would be standing there waiting to scold her.

Sansa’s eyebrows shot up, and Arya would have would have worried that she was judging her if not for the small smile tugging at her lips. “Oh my gods, my sister’s a ho.”

“I’m not!” Arya whispered earnestly.

“I’m so proud of you.”

“It’s just… Gendry,” Arya said, imploring Sansa to understand that this was a big deal for her, despite her need to keep things casual.

“I know,” Sansa said in a hushed voice, before she stood up and turned off the light, and then crawled back into bed beside Arya. Arya rolled onto her side to face Sansa. “No wonder he’s been following you around like a puppy the last couple days. Are you sure he wants it to be casual? Because I bet he would be into more if you—”

“Sansa, stop. It’s casual. I know we didn’t talk a lot when I was in Braavos but I was in a relationship there, and obviously it just ended, and it wasn’t exactly pretty, and I can’t just jump into a long distance relationship with Gendry the second I’m back in Westeros, no matter what he wants. We’ve already talked about this, Sansa. I’m an adult, and I can handle my own sex life.”

“First of all, I know you’re an adult. Second, that is the stupidest shit I’ve ever heard. Gendry was your first crush—“

“Mycah was my first crush.”

“Okaaay… Gendry was your first crush on a straight guy. You say you can’t jump into a relationship no matter what he wants, which leads me to believe he does want that. And you’re saying no to that—to Gendry—because you don’t want to hurt the feelings of some Braavosi guy that you’ll probably never see again?”

“It’s a little more complicated than that, Sansa. It wasn’t the healthiest relationship, I need some time to heal.”

“And you can’t heal and be with handsome, kind, attentive-lover Gendry and his big dick at the same time?”

Arya let out a huff of annoyance and rolled onto her other side, facing away from Sansa. She had a point, which made Arya even more annoyed. Gendry was so different from Jaqen, who had mostly used affection as a way to control Arya, and the waif, who mainly seemed to want Arya as a possession. Gendry was kind, and he listened to her talk about her exes without judging her or pressing for more information than she was comfortable sharing. He was patient and respectful of her needs, even if they went against what he wanted.

And he was Gendry. Arya remembered the first time she met him so clearly. Jon had brought him home one afternoon early in the school year right after he had started high school. Arya saw him sitting awkwardly on a couch when she walked in with Sansa and Bran. She had thrown her backpack into a corner and run to sit next to Jon. She introduced herself and asked if he liked football. He said he did and she talked her brothers and Theon into a game of three-on-three.

Arya had played with Theon and Robb, and Gendry and Jon played with Bran. Arya’s team had won 5-3, and she had scored four goals. Even though his team had lost, Gendry gave her the biggest smile as they were all walking back to the house, and Arya noticed for the first time that he had clear blue eyes, her stomach doing a little flip at the way those eyes crinkled when he smiled. After that, Gendry would come over a few times a week, and they would play football, or they would stay inside playing video games when winter came.

He had always just been around after that, for almost four years. After school, on the weekends, during dinner. Her crush on him developed quickly. However, as she was averse to most things that Sansa liked at that time, which very much included having crushes on boys, she mostly ignored it, and just followed him and Jon around. She hoped that, as she had always followed Jon around, no one would think it was unusual. 

When Jon and he announced that they both got into the University of King’s Landing, Arya had shrugged it off as something she didn’t need to worry about for months. So, when the day finally arrived, she was caught off guard a bit, and threw a tantrum, running away and refusing to say goodbye to either of them. She was so embarrassed by how she acted that day, she avoided being home on the rare occasion Jon brought Gendry back with him until she finished high school. Arya had a few other crushes in the meantime, but she had never forgotten about Gendry. She always hoped she would meet him again one day, when she was older and he would see her as more than Jon’s little sister. And then she got her wish at the worst possible time.

She spent the last six months in Braavos struggling between being unhappy in her relationship because she no longer felt like herself, and wanting to make a clean break and just stick with them until she left. The night when everything exploded and she left their house for the last time, she felt like Arya Stark for the first time in years.

Gendry was kind and patient, and understanding, and she felt like herself when they were together. He had known her when she was young, and he had never expected her to be anything but exactly who she was. And he also made her feel beautiful and worshipped when he would touch her, or even just look at her. Having sex with him was so different from how it had been with Jaqen and the waif. It was pleasurable with them, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized that’s all it was. With Gendry, not only did he touch her in all the right places and all the right ways, but he seemed to be genuinely concerned with and aroused by her pleasure. She felt like she was the absolute center of his universe every time they were together. It both scared and excited her. It also made her feel things that seemed to be coming on entirely too quickly.

“Sansa?” She whispered after a few minutes.

“Hmmm?”

“His dick is really big.”

Sansa chuckled quietly, rolling away from Arya, so they were laying back to back. “I’m sure it is.”

Arya drifted into a peaceful slumber, feeling slightly better after talking with Sansa.

*******

Late the next morning, after everyone had dragged themselves out of bed and treated their hangovers, Arya reluctantly joined Ygritte, Sansa, and the rest of the bridesmaids on a trip to a nail salon to get manicures and pedicures. It was a small salon and Arya and Sansa ended up getting their pedicures while the others got their manicures, on the other side of the salon. Arya was flipping through a trashy gossip magazine when Sansa started badgering her about Gendry again.

“So how much thought have you given to the fact that you’re hooking up with your favorite brother’s best friend?”

Arya rolled her eyes and dropped the magazine to her lap, rolling her head to the side to look at Sansa.

“What does that have to do with anything?”

Sansa pursed her lips and looked at Arya the way a teacher looks at a student, explaining something very obvious. “Well, it’s not like you’re never going to see him again. Isn’t it going to be awkward? Pretending like nothing ever happened between you?”

Arya looked away, towards Ygritte, her sister Sarra, and Gilly, picking her next words carefully. “Maybe I don’t want to pretend like nothing ever happened. Just because I’m not ready to be with him now doesn’t mean I don’t want to be with him in the future.”

Sansa didn’t respond for a long time, waiting until their toes were painted and they were left alone to dry for a while. Arya had picked up her magazine and continued flipping through it in the meantime, and was a little surprised when Sansa started talking again.

“That’s really unfair, Arya,” Sansa said quietly. “What I’m getting from this is that he is crazy about you, and you’re using him to numb your own pain for a while before you move him to the back burner indefinitely? How long do you expect the poor man to wait for you? And how is treating him like that not going to put a strain on your relationship with Jon?”

“So Jon doesn’t need to know anything about this. This has nothing to do with him. And Gendry knows what I’m going through, we’ve talked about all of it. He understands why I don’t want anything more right now.”

“And yet you keep sneaking back to his room. How many times have you done that? Every night since you got here? Because you may have told him that you need space, but showing up to his room without pants on night after night is only going to confuse him. You’re leading him on, Arya.”

“I—“

“Alright, time to switch!” Ygritte said, standing up on the other side of the salon and walking towards them. Sarra and Gilly followed her as Arya and Sansa awkwardly maneuvered their way out of the pedicure chairs and over to the manicure stations.

Arya was quiet through the rest of the pampering of the afternoon, thinking through what Sansa had said. She was being unfair to Gendry. She was monopolizing his attention and affection, and she wasn’t giving him much in return. He was begging for a chance, with his words and his actions and his body, and she flat out refused him, while still indulging in his affections. If she expected space from him, she needed to give him space in return.

Later that afternoon, when they arrived back at the house and the other four women all went to Sansa’s room to get ready for the rehearsal, Arya claimed a headache and went to her room to lie down. She lay on her bed for a long while, listening to the faint sounds of the women talking excitedly in the next room, and distant thumping and shouting coming from the backyard where the rehearsal dinner was being set up. She was absolutely miserable about it, but she came to the conclusion that she needed to leave Gendry alone.

Eventually, Sansa tapped quietly on her door, cracking the door open.

“We need to leave for the rehearsal in fifteen minutes. Do you want me to help you get ready?” She asked quietly.

Arya sat up slowly, not looking at Sansa.“No, I’m alright. I’ll be down soon.” Sansa nodded and closed the door, leaving Arya alone again. She got up and walked over to the closet, pulling out one of the two dresses that were hanging in there alone, still empty as most of her things had not arrived from Braavos yet. She put on the grey dress and the flats her mother had picked out for the rehearsal dinner, before pulling a brush through her short hair, still a little wavy from her shower with Gendry the night before. She twisted and pinned a few pieces of hair away from her face before going downstairs, feeling like a wedding was the last thing in the world she was in the mood for.

**********

Gendry was extremely grateful for his restraint at the bachelor party, as he spent most of the day setting up rented round tables and chairs, tents, and a long bar area in the backyard of the Stark house, enough for at least a hundred people that were invited to the rehearsal dinner. While Rickon was supposed to be helping, he was easily distracted as always, and the other men would help for a few minutes at a time until they were overcome by exhaustion, waves of nausea, a headache, or any combination thereof.

When the yard was finally ready, he looked around, pleased that he had been able to help out so much after feeling fairly useless the last few days. He went upstairs for a quick shower before he pulled on his old blue suit for the rehearsal, rushing downstairs to catch a ride to the Godswood with Jon, Robb, Rickon, and Bran.

When they arrived at the old site outside of Winterfell, where people who worshipped the old gods had been getting married for many centuries, Gendry tried to stay out of the way. He had never been to a wedding in a Godswood, and he wasn’t entirely sure what he needed to do, so he waited to the side for direction.

He knew Arya would be dressed up, but nothing could have prepared him for the sight of her, trailing behind the rest of the bridesmaids. She was wearing a simple grey dress that fell just above her knees, with pale snowflakes embroidered so delicately that they were invisible until they caught the light. It had cap sleeves and a modest neckline, and her skin shone in the fading light that peaked through the trees. The grey of her dress made her eyes pop, bright and beautiful. Her hair was pinned back from her face and fell in simple waves to her shoulders. She was the image of a true northern beauty.

“So, you’re definitely into Arya then,” Robb said, and Gendry jumped a little, thinking he was alone, lurking on the sidelines.

“I uh… I mean I don't—“ he stammered, still unable to tear his eyes away from Arya.

“Save it. You were pretty obvious at the bar last night.”

“We were just—“

“I’m not mad. She’s an adult, and she’s grown up well. Just don’t hurt her.”

“I would never,” Gendry said, finally tearing his eyes away from Arya and looking at him.

Robb seemed to find something earnest in Gendry’s face, because he patted him on the shoulder after studying him for a moment before walking away, going to speak to Jon and Ned.

The rehearsal went fairly smoothly. They went through the ceremony twice, making sure everyone knew where they needed to be and when. Gendry was trying very hard to pay attention, having no idea what he was doing in a northern wedding, though Ygritte’s sister Sarra, the maid of honor, kept trying to talk to him throughout. He mostly ignored her and felt reasonably confident that he wouldn’t ruin the wedding by the end of the rehearsal. He was relieved when they called it and headed back.

Ygritte insisted on riding back to the house with Jon alone, a mischievous glint in her eye, so the rest of the cars got changed around a little, and Gendry ended up in the backseat of Ned’s car with Arya and Sansa. Arya, being so short, sat in the middle. She kept her hands clasped in her lap and stared blankly forward. Gendry wished he could reach out and take her hand, or say something to make her smile, but she didn’t give him any acknowledgement. He did his best to focus his attention out the window, but he kept stealing glances at her, and he started to notice that she looked very tired. Her eyes were shining with barely contained tears, and it was at this point that Gendry started to really worry.

He tried to think quickly of a way he could get her alone when they got back to the house to see if she was alright, but the ride was shorter than it had seemed on the way out, and they were pulling into the long drive at the Stark house before he had come up with a plan. He stepped out of the car and held the door open, but as he reached a hand down, desperate for some contact, Arya’s head popped out the other side of the car after Sansa. Gendry did his best to hide his disappointment, and yet, Sansa gave him a pitying look as he closed the door. Arya had already disappeared into the house.

Dinner was a blur, Gendry sitting at a large table with the rest of the bridal party. He was between Robb and Sarra. Robb’s attention was mostly consumed by Theon on his opposite side, which was fine as far as Gendry was concerned. It gave him the freedom to study Arya, who ate her dinner quietly on the other side of the table, rarely looking up from her plate. Something was clearly wrong, and all he wanted was to see her smile once before the night was through. Sarra kept trying to pull him into her conversation with Gilly and Sam, but Gendry barely noticed. When everyone had eaten, Ned and Cat made a short toast to thank everyone for coming, before Jon pulled the groomsman all up to the bar.

“One last shot before the rest of my life!” Jon exclaimed, and while Bran and Rickon eagerly took their shots, the rest of the groomsman warily took the glasses Jon shoved at them, mostly still feeling a bit tender from the night before. Gendry was just annoyed that it was keeping him from figuring out what was wrong with Arya. She was still sitting at the large table, but she was finally smiling at something Ygritte was saying, though it didn’t reach her eyes. Robb, Theon, and Sam quickly excused themselves after the shot, looking pale, but Gendry stayed with the younger boys and Jon as he talked excitedly about his wedding and future wife. Eventually, Ygritte and Sarra joined them, and Ygritte made them take another shot.

It was then that Gendry realized why Sarra had been pestering him all night, as she placed a hand on his arm, laughing loudly at something Ygritte had said. His smile was tight, not entirely sure what he was supposed to be laughing at. He looked around, noticing that the crowd had thinned significantly and the caterers were cleaning up. Sansa and Gilly were still sitting at the large table sipping on their wine, but Arya was nowhere to be seen.

“I think I’m gonna have to call it a night, big day tomorrow and all,” Gendry said, stepping out of Sarra’s reach and waving to the rest of the party as he made his way towards the house.

He didn’t know exactly which room was Arya’s as he found the rooms of the Stark children, all together on the opposite side of the house from the guest rooms. He knew Jon’s and Robb’s were the last two at the end of the hallway. There was another one with the door open and the light off, and Gendry could see posters of famous footballers on the wall and there was a faint scent of an adolescent male drifting from it, so it must have been Rickon’s. Gendry opened the next two doors just a little, enough to deduce that they were Sansa and Bran’s, before he found what he was looking for. Or at least, he found the room he was looking for.

Arya’s room was sparse, unsurprisingly. There were still lots of posters on the walls from her high school days, and old pictures on the dresser, but the open closet was almost completely empty, and Arya’s large duffle bag was in the corner, clothes spilling out onto the floor. But Arya was not there. It was starting to seem like she didn’t want him to find her, and while he was devastated at the thought, he knew it was her right. He made his way back to his own room dejectedly.

He started tugging at the tie around his neck as he pushed open the door of his room. He paused at the sight of Arya sitting at the top of the bed, her legs pulled up so that her chin rested on her knees and her arms were wrapped around her shins. Her face was illuminated by the soft glow of the lamp on the bedside table, and she looked so sad it almost broke Gendry’s heart. She was looking out the window, and he gave it a quick glance as well, making sure they were out of sight of the dying party in the backyard. He closed the door quietly and finished pulling off his tie, throwing it on top of his suitcase along with his coat.

He sat down on the edge of the bed, doing his best not to crowd Arya as he leaned down and began untying his shoes, kicking them towards the end of the bed where his suitcase was laying open. He then moved up to sit next to Arya, but still leaving some space between them.

“Will you please tell me what’s wrong?” Gendry said, his voice gentle as he unbuttoned the cuff of his right sleeve, rolling it up to his elbow, and then doing the same to his left sleeve when Arya didn’t answer. He let his hands fall to his lap and waited for Arya to say something. Eventually she scooted a little closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder, wrapping her hands around his forearm.

“Sansa knows. She was waiting for me when I got back to my room last night.”

“Oh.” Gendry thought about that for a second. “Is she mad? She didn’t seem mad.”

“Why would she be mad?” Arya said and Gendry responded with a small shrug. “She thinks I’m being unfair to you. That I’m leading you on.”

Gendry didn’t know what to say to that. He didn’t feel that way, but if Arya did, that concerned him.

“And so I was going to give you space because it’s not fair that I’m asking for space and then constantly showing up here late at night. This whole week has been so weird. I’m going through a rough breakup, and I’m really not up for a wedding. But then there’s you, and I’ve just had so much fun with you and you make me so happy, but I also just want a little freedom. But that’s not fair to you at all, is it? And then at dinner Sarra really seemed to want to talk to you and she’s really very pretty and—“

“Stop,” Gendry said, twisting towards Arya and taking her face between his hands. “I barely even noticed Sarra, I was too busy trying to catch your eye so I could try to make you smile. I don’t… I know I shouldn’t be saying this because you don’t want this going anywhere but that isn’t stopping the way I feel about you. I don’t need space, Arya, I will take whatever you’re willing to give me. I’m happy to give you all the space you need, I just want you to be happy. I’m not interested in making a connection with Sarra or anyone else. If this weekend is all I have with you, I’m not paying attention to other women, believe me.”

“I couldn’t stomach the idea of not seeing you tonight. I’m sorry if it’s unfair to you. I can leave if you want me to,” Arya whispered, trying to look away despite Gendry’s firm grip on her face.

“Please don’t,” he answered, his voice gruff as he closed the small space between them, kissing her gently. Arya was quick to respond, scrambling to straddle Gendry’s lap as he leaned back against the headboard. His hands dropped from her face to her thighs, resting where her dress had ridden up, her smooth skin warm under his palms. Arya kissed him slowly, her fingers tangling in his hair and her body arching into his as their tongues twisted together. Despite his erection growing under her warm body, Gendry was enjoying just kissing her, holding her close. He knew she would eventually start ripping their clothes off, but there was something deeply intimate about the way she was kissing him, and his heart felt full. After a few minutes, she broke away to catch her breath, pressing her forehead to his, and Gendry’s eyes drifted open.

He lifted a hand from her thigh, gently tucking her hair behind her ear before caressing her cheek with his thumb. “So beautiful,” he whispered, enjoying the light flush that colored her face at the compliment. Her lips crashed back against his as her hands fell to his chest and began tugging on the buttons of his shirt. He helped her, tugging the shirt out of his pants and pulling on the buttons at the bottom. When they were all finally loose, Arya pulled away to push the shirt off his shoulders, and her face flickered with annoyance.

“Why are you wearing so many fucking shirts?” She muttered, grabbing the hem of his undershirt and pulling it up over his head.

“I’m pretty sure most men wear undershirts with dress shirts, m’lady. Plus I don’t like how the starchy fabric feels on my skin,” he said, as her hands landed on the hard muscles of his chest. She leaned forward and began kissing him again, just as languidly as before, as he reached his arms behind her back to begin pulling the zipper of her dress down. Once the zipper reached the bottom, he brought both hands up to her shoulders to pull the dress down her arms, the soft fabric pooling around her hips. Gendry broke his lips away from hers, trailing soft kisses down the side of her neck and chasing a bra strap as he looped a finger under and tugged it off her shoulder. He then made quick work of the clasp, the garment falling loosely to her elbows before she flung it off towards the window. Gendry used her distraction as an opportunity to push her away slightly so that he could wrap his lips around one of her nipples, sucking and biting gently as he rolled her other nipple between two fingers.

Arya was moaning quietly, rolling her hips against his straining pants. Gendry couldn’t control the jerk of his hips against her, but as desperately as he wanted to be inside of her, he also wanted to take his time. He moved the hand that wasn’t busy with her breast up her leg, pushing past the hem of her dress and tugging on the top of her panties until she pushed up onto her knees so he could tug them down. It was awkward for a moment as she shifted her weight from one knee to the other so he could get the obstructing garment off, but he simply chuckled against her breast as she grasped his head for support. She settled back into his lap and he quickly slipped his fingers between her swollen lips. She was already very wet, but he continued, circling her clit with a finger before plunging it into her tight cunt. The moan that escaped her at the action was not quiet, and they both stilled for a moment.

The sounds of the party dying down in the backyard could be heard through the cracked window, but there were no sounds coming from the other side of the door. “As badly as I want to hear you, m’lady, I don’t fancy us being caught in such a compromising position,” Gendry murmured against her breast, and she let out something between a huff and a chuckle, which turned into a gasp as he continued his ministrations. He added another finger as he brought his thumb to her clit and began rubbing in time with his thrusting fingers. In only a couple minutes, Arya’s hips began jerking erratically, her quiet gasps turning into frantic pants as she neared her peak.

Gendry pulled his mouth off her nipple with a quiet pop, leaning back against the headboard and watching as her orgasm tore through her. Her eyes were clenched shut and her lower lip was pulled between her teeth, biting down hard to keep from making any noise. Gendry kept his hands working, wanting to draw her orgasm out as long as he could. She looked glorious, her head falling back as the roll of her hips began to slow. She slumped against his chest, her head on his shoulder as he let the hand on her breast fall back to her thigh, and pulled his other hand out from between them. He licked her juices off his fingers as she came back to her senses, savoring her taste and trying not to think about never tasting her again after this weekend.

“You’re very good with your hands, you know,” Arya mumbled, watching him dazedly.

“I’d better be, being an artist and all,” Gendry chuckled, pushing her back a little so he could tug her dress up and off her, throwing it to the side. “But you’re also so responsive. It’s easy to tell what you like.”

Arya nodded, turning her attention to his belt, which she quickly tugged open. “And what do I like?”

“You like when I touch you here,” Gendry said, lifting a hand to hold Arya’s waist, brushing his thumb across the curve of the bottom of her breast as she fumbled with the button of his pants. He repeated the motion twice before lifting his hand further, brushing her hair behind her shoulder and leaning forward. “You like when I kiss you here,” he whispered huskily in her ear before pressing his lips to the sensitive skin just below, sucking for a moment as she finally freed the button. She let out a quiet moan, ripping the zipper of his pants open and plunging her hands inside his boxer briefs. His hips jerked into her hand as she grasped him and pulled him out of his pants.

Arya wasted no time in bringing him to her entrance and sinking down, taking every inch of him into her in one swift motion. Gendry groaned into her neck, his hands moving to grasp her hips so tight he was worried somewhere in the back of his mind that it would bruise. When she started moving, he leaned back, his head limp against the headboard as he watched her rise and fall before him.

“You like riding my big cock, don’t you?”

“Yesss,” Arya hissed, her hands holding onto his shoulders for leverage as she bucked her hips quickly. “You feel so fucking good.”

Gendry’s only response was a quiet hum as she continued to fuck him before she crashed her lips against his. He immediately plunged his tongue into her mouth, wrapping a hand around the back of her neck to keep her close. His other hand fell backbetween them, his thumb pressing against her clit and moving in quick, circular motions. Arya broke off their kiss after a while, her forehead falling against his as her hips began to lose their rhythm.

“Gendry,” she whispered, her eyes boring into his. He shifted slightly beneath her, bending his knees and planting his feet on the mattress so that he could thrust up to help her keep pace. When his hips bucked up against her for the first time, she gasped and moaned quietly, her head lolling to the side to rest against his shoulder. His hand working her clit began to fumble as he started losing control, his hips pushing up against hers more forcefully with each thrust.

“Arry, I’m not gonna last— shit—” he panted against her neck, as his orgasm hit him like a truck, his cock twitching deep inside her as he spilled his release. He did his best to maintain his movements over her clit as he came, grateful that his cock stayed hard for her when she finished a minute later, collapsing against his chest again.

After a few minutes, Arya lifted herself off his body, crawling off the bed and letting herself into the bathroom. Gendry managed to kick his pants the rest of the way off, letting them fall over the foot of the bed before he scooted down and pulled the covers over his lower body. Arya came out of the bathroom a minute later, walking around the bed to turn off the lamp before crawling in and curling up against Gendry’s side, her head resting on his chest. He combed his fingers through her hair gently, pulling strays away from the drying sweat on her face and neck. They lay there quietly for a long time. Gendry could tell from the way she was breathing and the way she would shift occasionally that she wasn’t asleep. He wondered what she was thinking about, and his mind drifted back to when they were younger, and she would get quiet like she had been all evening.

Arya wasn’t ever a quiet person, from the moment they met. She was eager to make friends, adventuresome and curious. She always had a story, or a long list of questions, but she would sometimes disappear, and Jon and he would find her in a room by herself, her knees pulled up under her chin and a faraway look on her face. It was almost always some silly fight with Sansa or something similar, and she would cheer up easily. Gendry grinned to himself at how similar a situation tonight had been.

“Arya?” He whispered.

“Hmm?” Was her only response, but her head shifted enough for him to know she was still awake.

“I missed you.”

She didn’t say anything, and he could almost see the cogs turning in her brain. He rushed to elaborate before she panicked. “I know it’s been ten years, and this is obviously a lot different than it was then, and I know you’ve changed and I have too, I just… You’re still Arya, and I’m only just starting to realize how much I missed you, and how much I value having you in my life.”

She still didn’t say anything, but Gendry felt her smile against his chest. “I missed you too, Gendry,” she said softly, lifting her head up to look at him in the faint glow of the moon coming through the window. She leaned up and kissed him softly, his hand gently cradling the back of her head. She lay back against his chest, and the voice in the back of his head was blessedly silent as he drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feedback pweeease!
> 
> I will be done with school in a couple days so I'm hoping the next chapter will be up next weekend sometime, but I am imperfect so don't get mad if that turns out to not happen.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Guys, I'm so sorry. Life gets in the way sometimes, as does writer's block.
> 
> This chapter is the wedding, which is the reason it has taken me eight months to post. Because I have no plot points that I need to hit in this chapter, so it's basically filler. I know you all probably had lots of expectations about this chapter, but that's not where the story went and I'm sick of trying to force it. 
> 
> The good news is, while I was glaring at this chapter for the better part of a year, I wrote most of what comes after, so chapter 7 will go up immediately, and the final chapter should be up within the week. Mayhaps there will be an epilogue too. So here is this steaming pile of shit chapter, I hope you hate it less than I do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Winterfell Lodge is basically the Old Faithful Inn in Yellowstone, if you want to know what I'm picturing for this wedding venue that I couldn't bring myself to write.

Arya woke up to the quiet beeping of her phone on the bedside table, the alarm she had set the night before rousing her from her warm slumber. She rolled away from Gendry and silenced the alarm quickly before sitting up on the edge of the bed to begin looking for her discarded clothing. Just as she moved to stand, she felt the bed shift behind her and a large arm wrap around her waist, pulling her back against the pillows as Gendry propped himself up on an elbow beside her.

“Where do you think you’re going?” He asked quietly, his voice rough and his eyes crinkling sleepily as he grinned at her. 

“I was going to sneak back to my room so Jon’s wedding day doesn’t start with him murdering his best man,” Arya said, lifting a hand to weave into the thick hair at the top of his neck.

Gendry smiled, clearly unconcerned about the possibility. He pulled up onto his knees before draping his body over hers, caging her between his knees and elbows and nuzzling his face into her neck. “But I don’t want you to leave,” he whispered, before trailing soft kisses up her neck, over her jaw and hovering a centimeter away when his lips finally got to hers. 

Arya smiled sleepily at him, her eyes darting down to his lips quickly, wondering if he was going to close that space or if he was waiting for her to do it. “Me neither,” she sighed, stretching up towards him, letting out an annoyed whine when he pulled back. 

“What time is it?” He asked, his fingers toying with her hair.

“Four.”

“And what time is everyone waking up?”

“Mom is usually up at five, but it could be earlier today.”

Gendry nodded, finally leaning back down and pressing his lips to hers, but he pulled away quickly. Arya’s huff of annoyance was met with a quiet chuckle as Gendry rolled off her and onto his back next to her.

“You’re giving up that easily?”

“Well, you argued your point well. I do not particularly want to get murdered by Jon or your mother today,” Gendry responded, pulling the blankets back up over his lower half and closing his eyes. Arya, now feeling thoroughly in the mood to start her day with a quick shag, sat up and tore the blankets back, throwing her legs over his hips and grasping his half-hard member, stroking it a few times before bringing it to her entrance. She was quick about it, working her clit with two fingers and riding him furiously until they both reached their climax. 

She rolled off of him quickly, pausing to pull his blankets back up and give him a searing kiss before she found her dress and tugged it over her head. She located her bra and panties as well, clutching them and her phone as she made her way to the door. She smiled widely at the sound of Gendry letting out a loud snore, already back to sleep. 

********

It was nearly midnight, the lights from the ballroom casting long shadows across the space between Winterfell Lodge and the tree line of the Godswood. Gendry stood at the railing outside the ballroom. It had been a good day. Everything went fairly smoothly, and even though there was a light drizzle during the twilight ceremony, Ygritte and Jon hadn’t seemed to notice, and Cat could be heard telling anyone who would listen during the reception about how rain was a good omen on a wedding day. His speech had gone well. It was short, but everyone had laughed when they were supposed to and Jon and Ygritte both had wide smiles when he finished. Arya had too, though he tried not to let his eyes linger on her too much. She was radiant in her pale blue bridesmaid dress. He had left her on the dance floor with her sister and a friend of theirs. He couldn’t keep up with her anyway. He’d never been a very good dancer. 

As he stood there gazing out at the moon rising over the trees, Gendry found himself wondering if he would ever have any chance of keeping up with her. His week had been a whirlwind, his heart spinning out of his chest and into the palm of her hand faster than he would have believed. And she was already gone, she already felt so far out of his reach, further with each passing minute that brought him closer to the flight that would take him away in less than ten hours. 

After a few minutes, he reminded himself that he was the best man at his best friends wedding. That his place was inside, having a great time, supporting Jon and Ygritte. So he forced on a smile, and went back inside, and it wasn’t so hard to almost convince himself that he was having a great time after a while, especially when Arya would smile at him. 

And although he knew he should have turned her away, for his own sake, when two hours later, there was a quiet knock on his door on the third floor of Winterfell Lodge, he didn’t hesitate to open it. He spent the rest of the night showing Arya how much he was going to miss her. By the time she dropped him off at the airport at 8:30 the next morning, he felt a little hopeful when she said she would see him soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter seven should be up about fifteen minutes after this one.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay here's a chapter that I actually enjoyed writing and came out the way I wanted it to! 
> 
> This is the second chapter being posted in a very short time, so make sure you've read chapter six or you might be confused.

** _One month later_ **

Gendry adjusted his grip on the torch in his hand, his focus on melding the strip of iron to the body of the beast he was working on and the loud hiss of burning gas preventing him from hearing the knocking on the door of his workshop. He finally decided the weld was secure, and turned off the torch, finally hearing the distant banging on the thick door.

“One second!” He called loudly, removing his helmet and setting it aside with his gloves as he made his way to the front of his shop. He pulled the door open to find Jon, his face wide with a grin.

“Surprise!” Jon said, pushing his way past Gendry and into the crowded workspace. “Old man Mormont got sick and sent me down for the annual concessioners meeting instead! Thought I’d come see my best mate!”

“That’s great, man!” Gendry said, doing his best to feign enthusiasm as he pulled the front door closed.

Jon wandered further into the shop, stopping when he came upon the large piece at the back that Gendry had been working on. Jon looked closely at the head, the first piece Gendry had finished.

“It’s amazing to me how you can twist some hunks of metal together and make it look like a wolf. A toothless wolf,” Jon mused, poking the holes where the teeth would eventually go, before turning his attention away from the sculpture. Gendry stepped closer to check on his recent weld. “How have you been? I feel like we’ve barely talked since the wedding.”

Gendry cleared his throat uncomfortably, still not looking at Jon. “I’m fine. I just figured you were busy being a newlywed and things would normalize soon,” Gendry finally said, thinking it was only mostly a lie. There was a part of him that thought Jon wouldn’t notice, given his newlywed status. He tried his best to pretend he wasn’t being distant because he had fallen in love with Jon’s sister in a matter of days and now didn’t know how to act around his oldest friend.

“Uh-huh,” was Jon’s only response as he made his way through the collection of smaller finished sculptures. Gendry started cleaning up for the day, figuring he was in a good stopping place anyway. After a few minutes, Jon spoke up from near the area set up in the front for sketching, “Have you heard anymore from that girl you were telling me about?”

Gendry flushed, wishing, not for the first time, that he hadn’t mentioned it. “Not really,” he said. It was true. He had received exactly two text messages from Arya in the month since the wedding. The first had been asking if he made it back to King’s Landing safely the night after the wedding, and the second had been a link to an article that briefly mentioned him as an up and coming artist in King’s Landing.

“And how are you feeling about that?” Jon pressed, and Gendry finally turned around to meet his eyes.

“Honestly?” Gendry said, and Jon nodded, his face kind and sympathetic. “Fucking miserable. I don’t understand how I can miss someone so much when it’s not like I ever got to spend that much time with her in the first place.”

Jon nodded, but offered no comment on the situation. Gendry eventually sighed, and turned away to wash his hands. Once he had dried his hands, Jon finally said, “So I think beers are in order. Is there anywhere good around here?”

Gendry smiled, grateful for his best friend, even though he couldn’t share everything with him. Jon was never one to push for more details than Gendry was willing to share.

*****

The next evening, Gendry left the door to his shop unlocked so Jon could let himself in when he arrived. They planned to grab dinner again and Gendry didn’t want to leave him outside in the sweltering late summer heat for longer than necessary. So he didn’t hear Jon let himself in this time, didn’t notice him settle down at the drafting table by the window up front and begin looking through his sketches. When he finally turned his torch off and removed his helmet, he jumped a bit when Jon’s voice carried back to him.

“Is this Arya?” None of the usual friendliness was present, and Gendry’s stomach dropped as he looked toward Jon, doing his best not to glance at the drawing Jon was holding up.

Gendry swallowed but did not move as Jon turned back towards the stack of sketches and continued to leaf through them. He finally managed to croak out, “I wouldn’t look any further if I were you,” knowing there were some fairly indecent sketches hidden towards the bottom of the pile that Gendry had drawn one afternoon shortly after the wedding.

Jon stopped, but did not say anything and continued to face away. Gendry felt his anxiety grow at the clear tension in Jon’s shoulders. “So she’s the one?”

“In the sketches? Yeah,” Gendry said, itching to move forward but worried about getting close enough for Jon to hit him.

“No, I mean is she the one that has you all... mopey. What happened between you two?” Jon’s voice was strained.

Gendry took a step forward and leaned against the workbench that broke up the room. “Well uh... I... we... connected. The week of the wedding. And she... she’s great and funny and smart and kind of a lot but in a cool way and I think I’m in love with her and she just wants... to be Arya,” Gendry finished, his shoulders slumping.

“And you slept with her,” Jon said. It wasn’t a question. So Gendry offered no answer. “My baby sister.”

“She’s not a baby,” Gendry said quietly.

Jon immediately scoffed, swiping the pile of sketches off the table as he turned to look at Gendry. His eyes were cold and distant in a way Gendry had never been on the receiving end of. He stood up a little straighter, bracing for whatever Jon was going to say next.

“What the fuck were you thinking? Did you think I would just be fine with it? Or that I wouldn’t find out? Does our friendship mean nothing to you?” Jon was speaking very quietly.

“I don’t know, Jon, it all happened so fast, and I—“

“How fast?” Jon interrupted. Gendry swallowed hard and tried to gather his wits a bit. “How long did it take you to seduce my sister?”

“I didn’t... we just kind of...” Gendry paused for a deep breath. “You don’t want to know the answer to that.”

Jon stood up and stormed out of the workshop. Gendry sighed and dug his phone out of his pocket, typing out a text he figured she wouldn’t respond to, but he thought she deserved a heads up anyway.

**Gendry: **Jon knows. I’m sorry, I should have hidden some sketches better, knowing he would be here. Thought you might want to know.

He was surprised when, less than a minute later, his phone chimed three times in quick succession.

**Arya:** 🙄

**Arya: **I can’t believe he’s mad at you.

**Arya: **Don’t worry, I’ll calm him down.

Gendry couldn’t help the small smile that tugged at his lips.

******

An hour later, Gendry was polishing the joints on his wolf and looking for weak points when he heard a gentle tap from the door. He looked up to see Jon letting himself in, looking confused, but blessedly no longer angry. Gendry set down his polishing rag and wiped his hands nervously on his jeans.

“Listen, I overreacted. I’m sorry,” Jon said, avoiding Gendry’s gaze as he leaned against the door frame. “Do you still want to get dinner?”

Gendry was a little confused, expecting more of a conversation than that. “Uh... yeah, sure.” He grabbed his keys and wallet and followed Jon out, locking up and leading the way around the corner to the pub they had planned to eat in. They both ordered beers and burgers, settling in a corner table away from the rowdy patrons watching a football game at the bar.

“You should have told me,” Jon finally said, after they had both taken a hardy gulp of beer.

“Oh yeah, ‘Hey Jon, I know you have a lot on your mind and I’m here to be your best man and support you this week, but I slept with your favorite sister and I’m falling in love with her and she’s just looking for a good time. Thought you’d like to know!’” Gendry said in a fake cheerful voice.

Jon snorted, but it was derision as much as amusement. “Maybe you shouldn’t have told me then, but you’ve had a month. Perhaps I’m not allowed to be angry because Arya is an adult and who she fucks is none of my business apparently, but I am allowed to be angry that my best friend was pulling away from me because he’s keeping a pretty big secret. We’re supposed to be there for each other, but you didn’t even give me the chance!”

Gendry nodded, but didn’t know what to say. He was still sorting through it all, he’s not sure he could have explained it to Jon if he’d wanted to. “I’m sorry,” he finally said with a shrug. “For being a shitty friend. I’m not sorry for what happened,” he clarified.

“Even though you’re miserable?”

“Even though I’m miserable,” Gendry nodded, taking another large gulp of his beer.

"Good," Jon said, following suit. They ordered another round of beers when their burgers arrived a few minutes later.

Jon helped a very drunk Gendry into his apartment a few hours later, everything (mostly everything) out in the open between them finally. Gendry unlocked his phone as he collapsed into bed to set an alarm, but the messages from Arya were still open on the screen. He typed out three words before deleting the conversation and setting his alarm, hoping he wouldn’t remember in the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a sucker for Jon finding out ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> Final chapter coming in about a week.


End file.
